One Girl Revolution
by Fantasya
Summary: Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed. RyoXRika
1. I Wear A Disguise

One Girl Revolution 

**By Fantasya**

**Summary: Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

**Chapter One: I Wear A Disguise**

"Rika – _Rika_ – dear, wake up!" Seiko cried exasperatedly as she tried to locate her only sixteen-year-old granddaughter within the ocean of navy and lavender comforters and assorted other bedding accessories that adorned her bed. No such luck.

A fire engine red head of hair emerged a few seconds later, looking around dazedly before disappearing again. Not wanting to be left, most likely out of earshot, Seiko grabbed a hold of the first patch of visible flesh she came across and went in after it.

"Goodness, you're going to miss the entire day if you just stay in bed! It's summer vacation – _get up_!"

Rika might have replied something, most likely this something would not have been appropriate language one used when speaking to their grandmother, but it was muffled by the pillow over her head. It did take away the effect of whatever it was that she was trying to say, but Seiko had a feeling Rika had left the pillow there purposely and she figured that was what counted.

After another minute of not so gentle prodding, Rika clawed and fought her way to the surface, and sent her grandmother a sheepish look. "What are you doing here?" She mumbled.

Seiko rested one hand on her hip and gave her only granddaughter a sour look as she wordlessly offered her the phone. "I expect you out of bed within the hour missy, for breakfast will be off the table by then."

"Who is it?" Rika asked staring blankly at the object in an awed caveman sort of way.

"Matt."

"Matt who?"

"Matt Whom-I-Felt-Like-I-Would-Be-Screening-Your-Calls-If-I-Asked." Rika continued to stare blankly and Seiko sighed. "Matt Ishida."

"Was that so hard?" Rika asked rhetorically as she took the proffered phone, which was handed to her with more force than necessary. "Now, who the hell is Matt Ishida?"

"Rika, _language_." The older woman said sharply. "I'm not exactly sure but I think he works with your mother."

"Of course he does." With this said, Rika was alone with the phone…which she had completely forgotten about until just then. Burying herself back beneath the warmth of too many blankets, she pulled herself into a comfortable position and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Rika?"

"Yeah. Sorry you had to wait."

"It's okay. I'm, uh, Matt Ishida, I work with your mother."

"Of course you do."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, continue."

"Is this a bad time? I can call again later, if you would like."

"No, it's cool."

"You sound a little sleepy – uh, I woke you up, didn't I?"

"If you want to be technical, my grandmother did. But that's not really important is it? You called for a reason…?"

"Oh, yes! Tai told me that Kari told _him_ that Davis told _her_ that Ken told _him_ that you have a band, right?"

_What the hell?_ Rika thought, but instead said: "Sure…um, how come my mom just didn't tell you?"

"She did, once, but she tends to talk a lot about everything so I mostly tuned it out."

"I know exactly what you mean."

"Anyway, have you guys been together long?"

"Is there a point to this?"

"You probably know that I own the club down town? D3?"

_Again, what the hell?_ Rika thought, but opted again to say: "Sure."

"Well, a funny thing happened. Your mother booked this new punk band to play there next Friday. But last night they cancelled. They said something about having a record deal and that they're moving to New York on Monday, you follow?"

_Did I miss the funny part?_ "Sure?"

"So, you're mother's freaking out and _we're_ freaking out because we don't have a band for Friday. Somehow, all of this falls on my shoulders. I was wondering if you and your band could play in D3 this Friday."

Rika sat up, suddenly completely awake. "Come again?"

"Uh…I asked if you and your band could play in D3 this…Friday."

"Oh, um, yeah! But, I, uh, have to talk to the others first about this…and uh…"

"Well, of course I'll also need to hear you fist. Are you going to practice today?"

"Eh…" _No, we're not. It's a freaking Saturday!_ "Yes, we are. Uh…my place at four?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll see you…then. Oh, Rika?"

"Yeah?"

"Where do you live?"

Rika quickly gave him her address, careful that she wasn't so dazed that she didn't send him to the wrong place, and said "bye" about ten times before finally hanging up.

She fell backwards on to her bed and tried to steady her breathing.

She knew that the others wouldn't care if she called an impromptu band rehearsal, but there was just one obstacle that stood in her way. Slipping out of bed she wandered into the kitchen where her mother and grandmother were drinking coffee.

"Rika?" Rumiko called disbelievingly. "What are you doing up so early?"

_I've got to play this smoothly_. "Dunno. What time is it?"

"It's 9:30, sweetheart." She turned to face her mother. "You woke her up, didn't you? I asked you to tell that boy to call again later."

"It sounded important." Seiko countered, shrugging as she soon immersed herself into a television program that was on in the next room, before getting up and leaving to go watch it.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, dear?"

"You know how much the band means to me right?"

"Of course, honey."

"Then you must _also_ understand why we have to play today?"

"Because you're not good enough?" Rumiko guessed obliviously.

"So, the truth has been revealed: we suck." A new voice interrupted dramatically as someone strolled into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast as if they lived there. Which of course, she didn't.

"Okay, you don't live here – why are you here?" Rika asked as she dropped her head on the counter in front of her. She felt her mother run a reassuring hand over her back.

Finn paused with her hand on the refrigerator handle. "I love you too."

"Rika, we were having a discussion." Her mother reminded.

"Oh, yeah, so seriously, Matt Ishida called and he is looking for a band to play at his club on Friday. He asked us, but he needs to hear us first and he wanted to come today. Mom, please? I already promised him."

Rumiko thought. "Is this club a big thing for you?"

"You have no idea how big." Rika replied excitedly. "Guys from record companies go there to find new talent. Mom, the Animals played there, Iron Head played there, Control, Requiem, el Diablo, XO. Mom, _Sinner_ played there. _SINNER!_"

"Where do they get these names these days? Who on earth is Sinner?"

"You don't know Sinner?" Both Rika and her band mate, Finn, cried.

"Mom, it's only the best Punk Rock band. Ever." Rika informed her.

"Come on, they're better than – than…Figure 9.0!"

"Yeah because Johnny Storm has the most amazing singing voice."

"_And_ he makes Johnny Depp look like Robin Williams."

"What is Figure 9.0?" Rumiko dared to wonder.

"Okay, not the point. The point _is_ that if you let us play today for Matt, we may end up playing in D3 which is almost a guaranteed record deal! Mom, you can't just deny this."

"Rika, dear, you're sixteen! They don't just give record deals to sixteen year old girls."

Finn, in all of her random knowledge, managed to find something useful. "Johnny Storm was _thirteen_ when he played in D3 and _you_, as I recallwere sixteen when you signed your modeling contract."

"Well, I will have to admit that it was quite the exception looking sixteen-year-old…" Rumiko commented, trying to avoid staring into the wide-open eyes of her daughter, whom had seldom looked so excited about anything. "Honey, does this really mean that much to you?"

"Mom, this means more to me than anything I have ever lied to you and told you means this much."

"Okay…" Rumiko tried to work that out, but soon gave up. "One hour."

Rika and Finn shared a look before jumping into a spur-of-the-moment victory dance, before giggling like crazy and running off to Rika's room to call the others. Until, of course, they seemed to remember something and they came back into the room.

Finn grabbed her cooling breakfast and left again, but Rika stood there as if unsure about what she was about to do.

"Rika?" Rumiko called, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Rika took a step forwards and quickly wrapped her arms around her mothers middle. She then pulled back before her mother could return the hug. Eyes staring determinately at her sneakers and face heated by a furious blush, Rika spoke five words she had never said before and probably would never say again:

"Thanks, mommy. I love you."

And then she was gone.

O

Getting the band together on such short notice was easy enough, especially after the words "possible record deal" seeped into their sleep fogged brains. Besides Rika and Finn, there were three other members of their band: Hasbro, Strata, and Aldo Nova. Currently in anticipation of Mr. Ishida's visit, the five sat around Rika's living room going over song order.

Rika tapped a clipboard in thought before reading its contents. "Okay, we'll run through our regular rehearsal line up. We'll do: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 13. Anyone have a problem with that?"

Strata raised his hands. "Yeah, uh…I'm not really up to singing today. Do I have to do back-up?"

"Finn?" Rika called on the only other girl in the room, who had raised her hand after Strata.

"Quit being such a whine baby. Do you want to impress this guy or what?"

Strata was silent. He wasn't much of a talker anyway.

"Anybody else?" No one. "Okay, he should be here soon so let's go get set up."

When a man showed up at four PM on the dot, with dark blue hair and a business suit so sharp it seemed to cut the air around them, they knew it was show time.

Hasbro slid the strap to his bass over his shoulder and sighed. "We've picked out, um, five songs for you to hear because you didn't really give us anything to work with."

"Before we start," Mr. Ishida said, leaning forward on a couch that used to belong to Rika's aunt Pearl, "why don't you tell me a little about yourselves?"

No one seemed to want to speak up, so Finn took the initiative. "Okay, I'm Finn Margo: the Token American," she motioned towards the others, "four eyes is Hasbro: bassist for obvious reasons; our wicked cool lead guitarist is Strata; the guy who's twenty something and still hasn't hit puberty is Aldo Nova; and the red headed siren that stands before you is my girl Rika." Finn paused; taking in his bemused expression and quickly added, "As you can tell: Token American also equals personality."

Mr. Ishida was silent. "Say what?"

"What say what?" Finn asked.

"Are those your real names?"

Aldo sniggered. "Dude, none of us our legal; our parents are all just demented."

"Okay," Rika cut in, "none of us really have _history_, if you get what I'm saying, so could we just jump ahead to the part where we play and you tell us how much we suck?"

Mr. Ishida smiled. "Pessimism is good." He then made a rolling motion with his hand, "let's begin, shall we?"

O

"Nervous?"

"Of course not; why would I be?"

"Because you're about to bare your heart and sing in front of a fairly large crowd of your peers?" Finn teased as she watched Rika freeze under the reminder. "You are such a bad liar."

"I can't – I can't go through with this! What was I thinking?"

Finn sheltered a single match from the harsh winds in the alley behind D3 as the pair waited for their turn on stage. In truth, Rika would have much rather been in the backstage area where they were supposed to wait, but the area was apparently a "no-smoking" zone. Finn had suffered a massive nicotine craving and had begged the redhead not to leave her to fend for herself. So, reluctantly, a very ticked off Rika joined in the cool night air while her best friend smoked her way to an early grave.

"You know, Rika, you should try that whole "imagining the audience in their underwear" thing." She took a long drag. "I've heard stories."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find that ridiculous exercise easy enough when you've slept with all of them." Rika snapped but almost instantly regretted saying it. Beside her, Finn had frozen solid with her eyes widened disbelievingly. Before Rika could apologize, she crushed the half finished cancer stick into the wall above her head.

"We better get inside."

"Finn wait – " But she was already gone.

Rika sighed as she reentered the backstage area, already ready to swallow her pride and try to apologize to her only girl friend. Strata grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her aside before she could find her.

"We're on in five, are you _sure _about the line up?"

Rika bit her lip before remembering who she was and scowling. "Strata – love you like a brother – but ask me that again and we'll move Aldo up to lead, got that?"

Hasbro stuck his head around the corner and pointed at an imaginary watch on his wrist. Rika froze for a split second and took a deep breath.

It was time.

O

Finn, on drums, wasted no time coming in with the rhythm, followed closely by Hasbro, Strata, and Aldo. The beginning of the song was relatively slow and sounded the same throughout the other verses, but during the chorus Finn and Strata had to step it up giving the song a harder edge than the rest of the song had. Rika had a strong, confident voice and with Strata occasionally giving backup, the two drew attention to the lyrics as well. Even though they hadn't completely made it through their first song, Mr. Ishida looked impressed.

Their second number had Strata singing more backups for her and their sound gained a bit more of pop-ish sound to it. Again, Rika's voice had a very distinct quality to it, so he couldn't help but notice that the lyrics weren't actually half bad. The sound didn't contain as hard a sound and even though he had liked the way the other one sounded just the way it was, this song had it's own…_personality_, which seemed to be the only suitable word.

The third song thundered in, but not in a hard heavy metal way. It contained a similar personality to the previous song, but it was more fun, upbeat feel to it. He knew that this song needed no improvement. Lyric wise it wouldn't be changed because he could almost feel as if the writer had put a bit of him/herself into it, not that he aimed to. The sound was perfect for what teens were listening to and the quintet looked perfectly at harmony with what they were doing. Yes, he could see them being big.

The fourth song was slower than all of the other songs he had heard but proved to be a lot more powerful. The only instrument that played during the verses was Strata, who had switched over to an acoustic, and occasionally Finn would jump in with some kind of obscure background sound that seemed to fit anyway. During the chorus was the only time the others jumped in, and they played very softly as not to take away from the perfect harmony created between Rika and Strata. She proved during this song to have an even more amazing voice than he had thought. During the last minute of the song or so, he could definitely tell that she had stepped it up for this one.

The fifth song, he realized, was another of their slow ones. However, this one was another tribute to the chemistry created within the band. This time, not only was Strata singing background, so was Finn to pick the sound up as more female. They all played amazingly quietly, lending Rika's voice even more strength than he thought possible. If he'd had any doubt that Rika Nonaka would be a star, this was the slap in the face. Overall, it was a simple song. But sometimes less was more. This was one of those instances.

The sixth song provoked the inner business shark he had thought he'd buried deep within him. Like it's two predecessors, it was simple but effective. It seemed that they knew that it would take more than catchy beats to make it far in the music business and that was a lesson that few bands learned until it was too late. As always, the lyrics were explosive. They did raise a slight blush to the older man at its implications, but he pushed it aside.

He had taken a huge risk booking an unknown that he had never heard. But because of his meeting yesterday, he had sent Koji in his stead who had come back with glowing reviews. He could now see why. Mr. Ishida sat back in his seat and listened to the roar of the audience as the group started a loud, thundering song that sent them into a frenzy.

Koji would _definitely _need a raise.

O

Two hours and ten minutes later, the quartet of backgrounders (as they liked to call themselves) entered the backstage area, fresh from the stage.

"That was so cool – I want to do it again!" Finn exclaimed like a hyperactive child. "Let's do it again!"

"God that felt good." Hasbro agreed, laughing.

"But I feel better, right?" Strata asked, teasingly. "I mean I _must_ feel better. Playing bass in front of a group of perfect strangers can't be better than sex."

"I do _not_ want to hear this!" Aldo announced, pulling his hands over his ears and humming "_I don't hear you, I don't see you…_"

"Seriously though, I'm better, right? You can't have sex – "

"Not hearing this!"

"You can't have sex with a bass!" Strata yelled, making sure Aldo could hear him, before turning to hug his precious boyfriend. "So, I'm still better?"

Hasbro frowned and kissed the top of Strata's platinum blonde hair. "Of course you are. Now stop saying sex in front of Aldo; you're making him uncomfortable."

"I could stand to hear a bit more!" Finn cut in, half-raising her hand.

"Finn," Aldo asked, giving her a dubious look, "You're not getting turned on by this, are you?"

"You're not?"

"Rika!" Aldo cried, noticing that she had not come backstage with the rest of them and had just arrived. "Look guys, Rika's here!"

"I'm glad you missed me." She replied amusedly. Finn was still jumping around the room as Mr. Ishida entered the room with an older, attractive blonde man and a younger man Rika thought looked familiar.

"Well done!" Mr. Ishida said proudly as he directed the newcomers to a nearby couch. "You were even better than before. There are some people who'd like to meet you. This is Johnny Storm."

"Lead singer for Sinner. You also manage Feeder." Strata said, awed as he shook hands with the brunette. "Nice to meet you. Strata."

In turn, the band shook hands with Johnny and introduced themselves. "It's very nice to meet you all. You played very well tonight."

The older man coughed politely behind Mr. Ishida. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry, Matt. Let me introduce you…" Matt stepped forward next to Johnny and offered his hand to Rika.

"Matt Ishida."

"But – I thought – " Rika looked quizzically at the _other_ Mr. Ishida as she shook Matt's hand.

"Yeah, that's Koji, my assistant." Matt said, looking sheepish. "There are not enough hours in the day, I'm afraid, so I needed him to fill in for me, Miss…"

"Nonaka. Rika."

"Ah, yes. Rumiko's kid." Matt grinned. "Be a doll and tell your mother to stop calling me."

Rika rolled her eyes. "Like my mom would waste her time with a pretty boy like you."

"Mr. Ishida?" Finn said, cutting in. "One word: Statutory. Stop flirting."

"As your friend here said, Johnny sings in a very promising group, Sinner. Their second record was only released three weeks ago and already it has hit platinum."

"You played well tonight." Johnny complimented, ignoring the other two men. "You have good future ahead; I can tell."

"You-you think?" Aldo asked.

"Yes." Johnny admitted, grinning deviously. "And we – the band and I – would like to help you with that."

"What did you have in mind?" Finn asked, twirling her drumsticks as she gave the older man an appreciative once over.

"We're having a concert in three months and we need a warm up." Johnny informed them firmly, before he melted into another wicked smile. "Are you interested?"

The band stared a Rika who stared back blankly. "I don't know; are we?"

"And if the show goes well," Mr. Ishida jumped in, "and the audience like you, we could maybe begin working on some sort of contract…"

"Excuse us…" Finn smiled warmly and gathered the band near the couch, their heads almost touching. "Well?"

"What do you mean _well_? Of course we're going; they're offering us a freaking record-deal!" Aldo cried in his loudest whisper.

"Yeah but _only_ if the crowd likes us." Hasbro reminded them.

"And it's not easy to please a crowd."

"We're warming up for SINNER! Do you really think the audience cares about us?"

"I dunno. Maybe we should ask out parents first?" Rika suggested. "We _are_ underage."

"I'm going to be eighteen in two weeks." Aldo quickly informed them.

"Hasbro will be eighteen in a month and I'll be in seven weeks." Strata pointed out. "You two ladies are the only ones under eighteen when it's show time."

"We should _still_ check with them."

"Oh, come on!" Hasbro almost shrieked, but managed to keep his frustrated voice below a whisper. "It's a _record deal_! We have the opportunity to play with _Sinner_ and you want to ask your mother? Please, when have _any_ of us asked _any_ of our parents _anything_ doing with this band?"

"He's got a point." Strata admitted.

"So, we're doing it then?" Finn asked, and once again, all eyes turned to Rika.

She took a deep breath as she examined the faces of her fellow band mates. "Let's do it."

"Thank you!" Aldo exclaimed as they all turned to Mr. Ishida, Koji, and Johnny.

"Well?" Matt asked. "Do we have an opening act?"

Rika sent a pointed look towards Aldo who had begun to do some sort of one-person tango, before grabbing Finn and pulling her into a wild spin.

"Do you really have to ask?"

Johnny smiled at the pair. Aldo let Finn go mid-turn, sending her careening into Johnny's arms. They stared at each other a minute before they nearly sprang apart, awkwardly glancing around the room at anything other than each other.

"Very well." Johnny paused to clear his throat. "If you'd give me your number, I'll get in touch with you and we can get over all the details…"

Finn smiled as she reached into one of her many cargo pockets and removed a gel pen. "If you wanted my number, Pretty Boy, all you had to do was ask."

"Yeah, last I knew," Matt cut in, grinning as the tall girl scribbled her information on the back of Johnny's hand, "they would be giving their number to _me_."

"Well, y'know, I like to be involved in new projects."

"Oh, yeah." Finn smiled. "I know _exactly_ what you mean."

Rika slung an arm over her friends shoulder and pulled her away. "To quote my soon-to-be-famous best friend, "_one word: statutory. Stop flirting_"."

"But that's different: you're a hard-ass; I'm a dance floor."

"Thank you all but now, we must be leaving." Matt told the group. "Johnny has to be in San Francisco tomorrow."

"Hey Johnny?" Finn called, as the two men were about to leave. He turned around and gave her a suspicious look. "We'll try not to show you guys up, yeah?"

He smiled and looked like he was about to reply when Matt pushed him out through the door. "Let's go, Romeo."

If one word could describe their situation, no one of them knew it. In that one moment, when all of their dreams were about to come true, there was very little they could say at all. But after an hour of silence (and being forcibly removed so the next band could get in there) Strata was able to come up with something pretty close to what they were all thinking.

"Wow."

And their journey began.


	2. I'm Just Your Average Jane

**One Girl Revolution **

**By Fantasya**

**Summary: Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

Chapter Two: I'm Just Your Average Jane 

Eighteen months, one North American tour, and a British mental hospital later, Rika was on top of the world. Their first CD, _Only For This Moment,_ had topped charts around the globe and showed no signs of leaving its post until their second CD, _Back in Black,_ took its place.

"Today is our last performance before the release of Back in Black, and our first performance since being back in Japan." Aldo said, as if they all didn't know this. "Let's make it count?"

Kayla twirled her drumsticks in a way that reminded Rika of their previous drummer, Finn, and leaned into the worn couch in the backstage waiting area.

Hasbro sat down on the other couch beside Rika and pulled her feet into his lap. "Come on, anyone else would think that this was your first performance. What happened to the band that sold out the supposedly un-sell-out-able Megadome in Chicago?"

Rika grabbed a hold of his hat and pushed it roughly down over his head. "_That_ band didn't have standards."

"What kind of standards can a band – that calls _this_ a dressing room – have?"

In a way, Rika had to agree. Their "dressing room" was scarcely more than a glorified garage. There were mirrors lining the walls and those ridiculously large light bulbs that seemed to be customary for dressing rooms. There were two ratty couches, each covered in the same tasteless plaid design and numerous stains Rika didn't even want to ponder the origins of. A door in the back corner led to a bathroom too small for anything other than its intended use – which was ridiculous with the amount of bathroom lovin' Aldo received – and Rika had a sneaking suspicion that this had once been a storage closet.

Rika made another grab for his _No Fear_ beanie but he danced out of the way just in time.

"This is _charity_." Strata reminded him, pushing Rika's feet out of his boyfriend's lap in order to sit there himself. "Would you have thought they could afford a 5-star dressing room when they couldn't even afford _us_?"

Kayla snorted. "You make it sound like we're prostitutes."

"Rika?" Aldo sent the younger girl a pointed look.

"For the last time: I am _not_ doing it with Matt – that guy is old enough to be my dad."

"Right – right. Of course. Whatever."

"I'm not!"

"Guys?" A mousy looking attendant peered into the room. "I was supposed to get you into your places."

"Lead on." Aldo said, giving the small woman an appreciative once over. "You know…"

"We know our way to the stage." Rika quickly cut in before the poor woman could find herself at the bottom of a very, very long list. "But thanks."

The woman nodded and disappeared as quickly as she appeared.

Sending Aldo a glare that would melt the polar ice caps, Rika grabbed Strata's hand and dragged him towards the bathroom.

"Get to the stage…we'll catch up." Strata muttered as he closed the door behind him.

O

Barely five minutes later, Rika and a harassed looking Strata joined them on the stage. Rika took point, wearing those ridiculous purple pants and the sparkly top she had needed Strata's help to get into, as the group waited for the curtain to open.

"Baby!" Yelled a worn, but distinct voice from off stage.

"Hey, mom." Rika replied as she gave her mother a hug. "How's grandma?"

Rumiko frowned. "The doctors say that she's getting worse. You should really stop by the hospital before you leave."

"I will." Rika tried to smile reassuringly. "Just as soon as our set's done."

"Okay. You're not nervous are you?"

"Err…should I be?"

"1 minute, guys." Some random person called from the backstage.

"No." Rumiko smiled sincerely as she hugged her daughter again. "You'll be amazing; me and Finn will be cheering you on from our seats."

"Yeah, you better go."

Rumiko continued to grin as she quickly greeted the other band members and wished them luck – except for Kayla whom she wished would drop dead, but did not say this out loud – before disappearing off the stage.

"Is everybody ready for our surprise charity band?" A cheerful, female voice boomed over the speakers. There was a polite round of clapping. "All right then, everybody, here they are, Japan's own: the Lonely Lights!"

This time, the crowd screamed as the curtains opened. Overhead, the spotlights burned Rika's eyes but, on the plus side, kept her from seeing a single soul. She mentally thanked whoever invented them and pasted on her trademark smirk. After a few seconds of nothing but the audience, Rika wheeled around and sent Kayla a look that said: _are you high?_

Bringing the microphone up to her lips, she continued to glare at the brunette. "Whenever you're ready – really – just take your time."

Kayla, who had suffered from immediate stage fright as she did before every show, struggled to maintain her grip on her drumsticks as she did the count off. Kayla back on their team, the Lonely Lights began their first song.

…_Are you aware of what you make me feel, baby? Right now I feel invisible to you like I'm not real. Didn't you feel my lock my arms around you? Why'd you turn away? Here's what I have to say…_

Rika couldn't have been happier when a half hour later they had finished their sixth song. She bowed, if to do nothing more than to end the first half of their show sooner, and finally addressed the crowd that she could hear but not see.

"Hey everybody! Well, as most of you know this is our first Japan show in _forever_ and we're really excited to be here! Me and the Lonely Lights were hoping you guys would have a good time, so tell us something…are you?"

The audience roared and somebody, somebody who would surely be out of a job in the very near future, dimmed the spotlights and brought the house lights up.

Eyes. Hundreds of them.

But it was one pair that she was instantly drawn to. Blue eyes. The same blue eyes she had sat opposite to what felt like a dozen years ago, when she had participated in this very tournament.

_Was running off stage considered a classy exit?_

_No! She was **Rika Nonaka**. Rika Nonaka didn't run when faced by the one thing that she really did not want to face_. She smiled and addressed the audience again.

"Thank you guys so much! We're going to take a little break and be back later, but now, give it up for our next act: Feeder!"

Rika was off the stage before the audience had realized what happened.

"Oh, you were so great!" A teary eyed Rumiko greeted her daughter the first second she arrived in the seclusion of backstage.

"You think?"

"Do you _hear_ them?" Her mother asked rhetorically as she whipped a hanky out of lord knows where and blew her nose dramatically. She pulled Rika in a bone-crushing hug. "They loved you!"

"Mom – air – let – go – _please_." Rika wasn't sure if her mother had actually heard her, or if she had come to the startling conclusion all on her own, but her mother pulled away wiping a tear from under her eye.

Standing at arms distance, Rika immediately knew that something was wrong. The hanky, Rika noticed, was a theatrical prop her mother had used during times of emotional distress when she had needed to ham it up for the cameras. But never, in the nineteen and a half years Rumiko had been in front of the camera, had she _ever_ smeared her mascara. To her, it was a cardinal sin.

"Either you need to sue Maybelline for lying to you, or something is seriously wrong." Rika said lightly, hoping it was the former. Her mother's acting skills failing her, Rika frowned. "What is it?"

"Rika it's-it's…it's your grandmother. The hospital called a few moments ago…she's dead."

The world around her spun and someone in the background screamed before the corners of Rika's vision began to blur and the ground rushed up to meet her.

O

"You ready to go, err…baby?" Ryo asked the woman in front of him. For the life of him, he couldn't seem to remember this one's name.

"You know it." The perky little blonde said as she climbed into his car. "Where are we going again?"

Ryo closed the door behind her and mentally reminded himself that if he killed her, he wouldn't have a date to the event. So instead, he took a long, deep breath, climbed into the driver seat, and started the car. "We discussed this earlier. My last tournament is today."

"Oh – yeah, yeah. That Digi-man thing or other, right." She said, insipidly as she checked her reflection in his rear view mirror.

When they had arrived, she played it up for the cameras as she was expected to and Ryo watched with the same sheepish, "what are you going to do?" sort of expression on his face that he had with every other woman he showed up at events with.

It was then, at that years Digimon tournament final round that made him think of her. They held the tournament every year and so, in all honesty, he _had_ thought of her at the others. But it was sitting across from an All-Growed-Up Susie Wong in the finals that made him _really _think of her. He knew that the tournament council would have sent her an invitation and he also knew that Rika was not the type to turn down a challenge. But for some reason, she hadn't come to this one. It was the last year Ryo would be able to hold on to his title in the junior leagues. This summer, he was turning twenty, and would then be admitted to the Adult world of gaming. Of course his wandering mind didn't stop him from wiping the floor with Henry's little sister.

Fifteen minutes into his match, which was considered long compared to his others, he was declared the winner and Yamaki was ready to present him with his trophy. As predicted, whats-her-face clamped on to him, whispering, "_I knew you could do it_" and other lies that would be picked up by the media and plastered as a direct quote on the cover of every magazine from there to England.

Luckily, he was saved from answering any press questions (his all-time favorite being "boxers or briefs?" _Not._) when a perky, borderline high, voice crackled over the PA.

"If everyone would gather at the north side end of the auditorium, we will be able to begin the charity concert!"

Reluctantly (yeah, right) he and his date split up so that he could collect his metal from Yamaki, and she could go directly to their seats. All too soon, he stood at her side in the front row.

"Wow, Ryan, these seats are amazing! The stage is, like, RIGHT THERE! We're close enough to touch the bands!"

"Yeah, yeah, isn't that something." He replied irritably, already checking out the other women in attendance.

Amazingly enough, she either seemed to take the hint or had gotten bored before the concert could even start, and said: "I'm gonna go get a drink, want one?"

"Nah."

"Okie-dokie." She said. After a few seconds, she realized that _no, he did not want a drink _and _yes, this meant she would have to get it herself_. She left.

"Is everybody ready for our surprise charity band?" As cheerful as she was, her announcement was met with a polite round of applause. Undeterred by their lack of enthusiasm, the woman continued. "All right then, everybody, here they are, Japan's own: the Lonely Lights!"

Although Ryo had never heard of any such band, the rest of the audience had. In a matter of seconds, there were screams and teenagers whipping out cell phones to get friends over to the auditorium _now_. A pretty, redhead stood center stage with a confidant smirk playing at her lips. The concert had yet to start, and Ryo turned around to find that the crowd had doubled in size.

"Whenever you're ready – really – just take your time." Ryo squinted, as he stared at the redhead and tried to recognize her voice. It was familiar…but he just couldn't seem to place it.

Before he had a chance to analyze it any further, the drummer counted off and they launched into their first song.

…_Are you aware of what you make me feel, baby? Right now I feel invisible to you, like I'm not real. Didn't you feel me lock my arms around you? Why'd you turn away? Here's what I have to say…_

Ryo didn't really listen to the songs they played, choosing instead to scope out the hysterical women around him. Almost an hour later, when the band was wrapping up their sixth song, he realized that his date still hadn't come back.

…_You don't know me; don't ignore me. You don't want me there you just shut me out. You don't know me; don't ignore me. If you had your way you'd just shut me up – make me go away…_

"Hey everybody!" Ryo froze; there it was again. "Well, as most of you know, this is our first Japan show in forever and we're really excited to be here! Me and the Lonely Lights were hopingyou guys wouldhave a good timeso tell us something…are you?"

Yes, there it was. He knew he'd heard it this time. He did recognize that voice. He hadmemorized its tone. He was afraid to look up, but _he was **Ryo Akiyama**_. He wasn't afraid of anything. So, just as the house lights went up, he did. He looked up and sure enough, it was Rika. _His_ Rika. Staring right back at him.

Ryo thought about her as often as he ran his hands through his hair. Which was quite often, mind you, in order to keep it in that messy state he liked – and the girls appreciated – so much.

She froze for a split second, obviously just as confused as he was, before pasting on a smile that probably felt as fake as it looked (well, maybe it didn't look so fake to everybody else since they didn't know her as well) and all but darted off the stage at the first opportunity.

God, he needed a drink.

This proved to be the correct plan of action because as he approached the bar, he found a very familiar nameless blonde in the lap of a random guy with her tongue shoved halfway down his throat.

"Eh, you're not still coming home with me, right?" He asked. Without breaking contact with the guy she was kissing, she waved him off. Ryo nodded. "Okay, then. Good. Cause that would have been just plain awkward."

The bartender, a pretty woman in her early thirties with strawberry blonde hair, passed him a beer and a napkin after watching the exchange. One was free of charge. The other read "Marilyn 555-0123 Call me". Needless to say, his night was full of surprises.

**Author Notes: **I just had a few things I needed to put up:

1. Pairings include (but are not limited to): Ryo X Rika………that is all. No, but I really haven't decided about the other ones yet.

2. English is the universal language and dollars are the universal currency only because conversions make my head hurt.

3. I know that a lot of you are probably going "what the hell?" about this chapter, but trust me, this only the beginning. In the next chapter, Rika will actually meet up with the other Tamers (most importantly Ryo).

4. I was very careful with my spelling as well as my grammar, even though the latter is a lost cause.

5. The next chapter won't be up for at least another week.

Anyway, please be sure to review!


	3. The Super Doesn't Stand For Model

**One Girl Revolution**

**By Fantasya**

**Summary:** **Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

**Chapter Three: The Super Doesn't Stand For Model**

O

"Rika!"

"Rika!"

"Miss Nonaka, over here!"

"Rika!"

"Just one word!"

"Rika!"

The statuesque redhead glanced at the crowd of overeager reporters through a pair of Gucci sunglasses. Picking one at random, she motioned towards him.

"Three questions." She snapped in a tone that left room for little argument.

The group whispered heatedly amongst themselves for several long moments before he cleared his throat and stepped forward. The others fell silent in anticipation.

"What brings you back to Japan after so long, Miss Nonaka? Does it have anything to do with – " He froze, realizing his error, and quickly shut his mouth.

Rika rolled her eyes, unseen by her captivated audience, and grinned. "I just felt like a change of scenery. And _no_ it does not have anything to do with the rumors surrounding Mr. Ishida and myself because for the _last _time: there is_nothing_ going on between us."

Last question. The man paled considerably as he looked back at his furiously scribbling colleagues. The last question was important.

"Is this the end of the Lonely Lights?"

The amused glint in Rika's eyes disappeared as she regarded the curious man. "And what ever gave you that idea?"

"Well," he cleared his throat again, "the other Lonely Lights are still state side: two of them are in California and your guitarist is in Miami."

"Listen, the Lonely Lights are taking a break. We're ahead of schedule on our third album and I wanted to visit my mom." Rika sighed. "Without me, the band practically falls apart so they just decided to go on vacation."

"So, does this mean that you've found a new replacement drummer for Zechariahs?" He ventured, hoping that she would just count the other one as a half of a question.

Oh yes, dear Zechariahs-not-Zech. No, he hadn't lasted long.

"Of course we did. Who wouldn't want to play for the Lonely Lights?"

"I wouldn't," Rika picked up the hushed voice of a thickset man somewhere to her right, gossiping with the pretty woman at his side, "way they throw drummers away like tissues."

Even though she had heard every word, she didn't comment. What was the point? She knew that they used drummers and got rid of them whenever they started to feel like a part of the "group". Ever since Finn had quit, it had just felt wrong having someone else sit at the drums that were rightfully hers. Rika had only seen the blonde almost a year ago at the J.O.L. Charity Ball that the Lonely Lights had performed at. They had only spoken briefly before Finn caught sight of Johnny and his then-girlfriend, Starlet (yes, that was actually her name), out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly remembered an important prior engagement. They probably wouldn't have talked at all if she hadn't fired their drummer (Kay? Kylie? Katrina? Whatever) and needed a drummer to help her perform that last song in memory of –

No. She didn't want to think about that.

Forcing her mind passed that train of thought, she remembered what else had happened that night, and the blue eyes that had filled it. She grimaced.

Now, she _really_ did _not_ want to think about _that_.

Luckily, a distraction came in the form of a yell. Someone carefully hidden in the crowd of people milling about the airport behind her yelled out: "Oh my god! Britney Spears is having a 3-way with X-Tina and Justin on the phone with that handsome – no matter howodd – looking youth!"

The paparazzi pounced like hungry lions during lunchtime.

"No, no! The blue hair! Blue hair! Yeah, that's him! That perv!"

Rika kept a blank face, but she recognized that voice. And she missed it so. She turned around to see the slight form of her best friend as she grabbed her hand and began a hasty retreat to the sanctuary of the open road. Rika was glad that she had worn what she had dubbed "civilian clothes", dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and black, steel-toed shoes, so that she and Finn, in her Lonely Lights concert tee, ripped jeans, yellow sneakers, and with her distinct white-blonde hair was carefully tucked under a black cap, didn't draw as much attention as they would have otherwise.

"Chances that he was just ordering a pizza?" Rika asked, conversationally.

"How should I know?"

"The _others_ were ordering pizzas."

Finn looked thoughtful at the reminder. "Hmmm…pretty high, then." The grin on Finn's face completely disappeared as she chanced a glance over her shoulder. "Rika, run."

"What?" The redhead asked, looking back as well.

"Run!" Finn shouted, taking off at full speed now with Rika hot at her heels as the journalists closed in on them.

The pair scrambled into the backseat of an awaiting cab and told him to floor it. Without asking for a destination, the driver was more than happy to comply.

Carefully peering out the back window to make sure the coast was clear, Rika sighed and pulled herself out of the odd angle she had somehow pretzeled into when they had dived in.

Two blocks and many arguments about who's _what_ was digging into the other's _where_ later, Rika began laughing. Softly at first, but soon it became hysterical as she slid out of her seat clutching her sides. The cab driver looked back, bemused, as Finn joined her. Three blocks after that and they still had not stopped; the driver pulled over to the side of the road and looked back at the pair, who were wiping away stray tears.

"Are you two going to be all right?"

They stopped laughing.

Rika took off her sunglasses and looked at Finn.

Finn looked at Rika.

And again, they were lost in laughter.

The door was pulled open and a relieved man appeared. That stopped them immediately.

"Here's one over here, Hannah!" He called over his shoulder before he looked inside. A girl that should have been on the cover of _Vogue_ ran up beside the door.

"Ryo!" She said his name condescendingly and gestured into the already occupied cab.

"Ryo?" Rika repeated. It took her a moment to recognize him with the longer, shaggy hair.

"Rika?" He asked, his tone conveying that he had not recognized her either at first, but his held more surprise.

Slightly behind him, Hannah blinked. "Rika?" She asked, taken aback that they would know each other.

"Finn!"

"Finn?" The other three repeated at more or the less the same moment.

"Yes, Finn." The little pink-eyed girl shrugged. "Somebody had to say it."

Chuckling, Ryo turned his attention to the other occupant of the car as he leaned against the door. "Of all the cabs in all of Japan."

"Yes," Rika added, smirking as she climbed back in her seat, "and of all the jerks to find the one you're in. Are you stalking me, Mr. Legendary Tamer?"

Ryo tried not to notice how Rika was the only one who could ever say any of his little titles with that particularly high level of sarcasm. "Hardly."

"Well, whatever you're doing is no business of mine." Rika rolled her eyes. "And the same goes for _this_ cab and _you_. Go find your own."

"Business or cab?"

"_Both_."

"Oh, please, Rika. There's plenty of room."

"I like to stretch out."

"I'm sure you do."

"And we have to go pick up fat people. Lots and lots of them."

"Of course, Rika, whatever you say."

"The meter's running, Rika." Finn cut in.

Rika looked at Ryo with that smug little grin and questioning eyes. She turned to Finn, still on the floor, who simply shrugged noncommittally and made a motion towards her imaginary watch.

Rika sighed and scooted so that she was seated on the opposite side of the small car. "Fine, but you're paying."

Ryo's face broke out into a grin that threatened to overtake his entire face. Finn quickly slid onto Rika's lap while Ryo and Hannah climbed into the back seat with them.

"Where to?" The cabby asked as Hannah closed the door behind them, shooting awkward glances at his original passengers.

"The Mirage Hotel." Rika said at the same time Ryo said: "Meteor Garden."

They looked at each other.

The driver took it upon himself to make the decision.

"You're not going to the Tamer Reunion, Wildcat? I just figured, why else would you be back in Japan?"

Rika would have strangled him if Finn weren't in the way. "What reunion?" She settled on asking instead.

"Takato called me up last week. He and Jeri are hosting a big reunion for the Tamers at Meteor Garden at three."

Rika looked down at her designer, diamond encrusted watch. She had little more than a half an hour. "I think I may swing by."

Ryo grinned. Rika didn't see it. Hannah did.

"How long have you been back?"

"First day." Rika replied with a casual shrug.

"…Ryo?" Hannah called, her voice soft and timid. She clenched the hem of her dress uncertainly and looked between the two old friends with something akin to suspicion. Ryo turned around and gave her that heart-melting smile that had won her over the first time she'd seen it.

"Oh, hey, Rika, this is Hannah."

"Your…arm candy?" Rika ventured, teasingly. Hannah tensed.

"No, I prefer to call them girlfriends now. That was just a phase."

"Aw, look at you. All Growed Up."

"So, what? You and…Finn, right?"

"Yes." Finn said at the same time Rika said: "no."

"So, Rika how is it that you and Ryo know each other?" Hannah cut in innocently after a moment of silence. Glancing over, Rika noticed with some odd sense of pride that Hannah was subtly trying to ease Ryo away from her…

"Digimon." She answered simply. "It unites us all."

"Except for me!" Finn quickly jumped in, in her never-ending attempt to draw attention to herself. "My father was stalking her family. Died spectacularly in a haze of gun fire...well, actually he _didn't_ but the story is so much better with me saying he did."

Rolling her eyes, Rika looked towards the obviously threatened Hannah. "So, how did you get stuck with this jerk?"

"We met via phone, actually." Hannah gushed, linking fingers with her love muffin. Rika could tell by that wistful look in her eyes and that exasperated look in Ryo's that this story had been told a dozen more times. Rika immediately regretting asking. "There was a number mix-up and Ryo accidentally called my number instead of one of his friends."

"And do you always hook up with guys that call the wrong number?"

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Ryo asked quickly, wondering whether or not there would be fighting. Where was a bucket of water or a nice mud arena when you needed one? "I'm sorry, Wildcat, but you had your chance."

"Oh, you and Rika dated?" Hannah asked, but Rika could detect a rather dangerous undertone to it. She also noticed the way Ryo flinched as Hannah squeezed his hand with a little more force than necessary.

"Please. I try to stick to those that are within my own species." Motioning to Ryo with her free hand, Rika tried to sound supportive. "But you're more than welcome to him. I think that what you're doing is great."

"Mirage hotel." The cabby cut in, pulling the car up to world famous hotel. As Finn and Rika climbed out, Ryo leaned his head out the window, looking up at the multi-building complex. The main building, which they were parked outside of, was at least thirty-one stories high. He gave a low, impressed whistle.

"You're staying here?"

"No, I just thought I'd be cool to get dropped off in front of this place and then walk all the way across Shinjuku to go back home."

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Careful, Rika, you wouldn't want to O.D. on the sarcasm."

"I've got a pretty high tolerance." She countered. "But you're right –I can't be my usual bright and shining self when I go to this stupid reunion if I've exhausted all of my wit on a sub par person such as _you_."

"Well," Ryo paused to blink, trying to process how much sarcasmshe had squeezed into that one sentence, "if you're done belittling me, I'd like to head on over to the park. We'll see you there?"

Rika pulled out a wad of crumbled bills from where Ryo liked to think was an inner pocket in her shirt as she nodded. Not bothering to count, she handed them to the driver. "Keep the change."

"Hey, Rika!" He called, suddenly remembering something just before the two girls could walk away from the car. They turned to him, Rika raising a perfectly arched eyebrow up in silent question. "It's going to be a small gathering, you know?" he explained quietly, "just us Tamers and a few of their significant others."

Rika scoffed. "You haven't got anything to worry about, Pretty Boy. We'll give the cameras the slip and meet you at the Meteor."

"Eh, Rika?" Hannah cut in, "_significant_ other?"

Rika could tell there was a dig in there. Especially by the sting that Rika felt (and the way the hair on the back of her neck tried to take over her brain and order her body to kill Ryo's girlfriend)upon hearing it

As if reading Rika's mind (no, she didn't kill Hannah. Darn), Finn turned to face the pair with such a sugary sweet smile that _Ryo's_ teeth began to hurt, linked arms with Rika, and Finn being Finn, only said with an otherwise straight face, "ours is a forbidden love."

"_What_?" yelled Rika, "oh, you little…" she growled and searched the street for what could best be used as a weapon.

"We'll see you guys there." Finn reassured them, still not releasing her friend. "It was nice meeting you both."

"It was nice meeting you too." Ryo and Hannah responded in unison. They both looked at each other, surprised, before sharing one of those sickingly sweet "we are _so_ in love and you don't know if we're doing this just to rub your face in it or not" stares and sighing.

Forgetting her previous anger, Rika sneered. "Okay, I think I'm going to hurl."

Ryo turned back to them, as if he had forgotten they were there, and flashed them the million-watt smile on the cover of so many magazines. "It was good seeing you again, Rika. You look good."

"Fame does that to you." Rika looked him over and quickly added, "Well, it does that for _most_ of us."

"Ah," Ryo said, placing a hand on his chest, "you wound me, you know that?"

"I try." They probably would have continued their banter if Rika's cell phone hadn't rung, playing the melody from the song _Nobody's Home_,theseventh track of Back In Black. She glanced down at the caller ID and rolled her eyes. "It's been nice catching up on your delightful conversation, Akiyama, but I've got to take this. See you in half an hour?"

Ryo looked down at his watch. "Actually, we're late now."

Rika scoffed and waved a hand dismissively. "Okay, I'm a celebrity. It's practically in my job description to show up fashionably late."

"Whatever, Rika." Suddenly, Ryo cursed under his breath as he remembered something else. "The meter's running."

"Oh, no, no, no," The cabby said quickly, flashing the wad of twenties Rika had forked over. Ryo didn't need to count it to know that it was _well _over the amount the meter said. "It is not a problem. Whenever you're ready."

"Well, we better get going before I have to dip into my college fund just to get us there." Hannah said in an exasperated tone, obviously not having seen the cabby's little display. "It was nice to meet you, Rika."

Rika could tell from her tone that Rika was officially the _last_ person Hannah would have liked to meet.

"And the same to you, Heather." Rika said in the exact same tone. Before she could be reminded that _no_ _her name was Hannah_, she whipped out her phone and answered it as she sauntered off with an extra swing to her step, knowing _exactly_ where Akiyama's eyes would be. Was she not a professional? Without turning around, she knew she stood corrected from the pained "ouch!" he cried from where Hannah had most obviously smacked him in the back of the head. She smirked.

"Why did you do that?" Finn asked as she closed the phone she had managed to slip out unnoticed, and watched the cab drive off. Rika waited until they'd entered the hotel to close her own phone and shrugged.

"You've created a monster."

"And that's all?" Finn prompted.

"…Yup."

While Rika went up to the front desk to check-in, Finn continued to watch the little yellow cab. She looked at Rika, leaning over the desk as she talked with the guy behind the counter, and back towards the slowly disappearing cab.

Rika had hesitated.

Rika _never_ hesitated.

"…Liar."

**Author Notes: **Thus ends the third chapter of **One Girl Revolution**. I really did my best on spelling and grammar, and I'm almost 90 percent sure that I caught all of the spelling, at least. In case I didn't make this clear (which I don't think I actually did) Rika is now eighteen-years-old. Which brings me to my next point:don't hesitate with the questions or comments. I'm a little slow sometimes so you may notice things that I don't or I'll write an entire chapter and it'll be, like, total and complete trash. Don't hesitate. I'm made of sterner stuff than you'd imagine…unless someone touches me…then I just fall to floor…most likely in tears…and I'll whine about the inconceivable pain for _days_ on end…other than that, I'm good.

Anyway, I'd also like to thank all that have reviewed for reviewing and would like to ask them to keep doing so! It is summertime and I have no life outside of the computer. What. So. Ever. I just sit here, obsessively checking my e-mail to see if my friend has realized that _no, I'm not dead yet_. Working on this story. Counting down the days until school starts up again.

It is 1:03 AM on a Friday night and I am about to post this story.

I am so pathetic.

Anywho, don't forget to review!

…That rhymed. Cool. Rhyming is cool.


	4. But That Doesn't Mean I'm Plain

**One Girl Revolution**

**By Fantasya**

**Summary:** **Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

**Chapter Four: But That Doesn't Mean I'm Plain**

O

It was hard to stay mad at someone like Finn. Even Rika, who still found occasion to curse Santa for not bringing her the walkie-talkies she had wanted when she was three, couldn't stay mad at her. Finn was the girl that Rika still considered her best friend even after she had convinced Rika to jump off the roof of her house when she was ten, consequently breaking her arm, and just blinked innocently as she walked away from her own daredevil stunt unscathed.

So what was two years of little to no contact between such good friends?

"Please, please, please let me go with you?" Finn tried for the seventy-ninth time in the last ten minutes.

"No." Rika replied as she stashed the hotel key in her back pocket and grabbed a jacket. _Had Finn been wearing a jacket?_ She considered asking, but changed her mind when she remembered that Finn seemed to always have everything.

"Rika, please! This is my first free day in _months_ and you're going to make me spend it in the lavish hotel suite that could house the crazy eighty-eight and all of their extended family by myself?"

Rika pretended to look thoughtful even though she had made her mind up after the last time she had brought Finn to any type of social event. The result hadn't been pretty. "Yes."

"If you're going to this picnic then what about me?" Finn cried desperately. "What am _I_ supposed to do?"

Rika pointed at the phone and said, "room service," at the TV, "cable," finally the couch, "fold out and comfy as all hell."

"Knew that." Finn mumbled as she burrowed further into the brown suede and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. "Well, there _are_ some movies I've been wanting to see."

"That's the spirit." Rika took this as permission to leave without some sort of payoff.

"But this is all on your tab. This is payback for never calling."

Rika, fingers brushing the cool metal of the doorknob, froze. "Phone works both ways, Finn," she opened the door, "phone works both ways."

And she left.

Jeri didn't recognize her when she first showed up. She had just stood there, smiling pleasantly, as Rika tried to make small talk. The other present Tamers, Takato, Henry, Kazu, Kenta, and Susie, were down by the basketball court apparently taking a break from a quick game before the firework display. Rika spotted a diamond, small compared to others she was used to, gleaming on the fourth finger of Jeri's left hand.

"Aww, a promise ring. Does that mean that you finally settled for that Gogglebrain? I was hoping I'd taught you better than that."

Jeri's eyes flew to her own ring before she looked back at Rika insulted. "This is _not_ a promise ring and don't talk about Takato like…that…" she trailed off, as if suddenly her brain had registered what was happening. The red hair, the lavender eyes…the unpleasant but at the same time endearing nickname for Takato…it just screamed, "Rika?" She asked, incredulous.

"Who were you expecting? The Easter Bunny?" Rika rolled her eyes. "What have I been referring to myself as for the last ten minutes?"

"Oh my god, you _are_ Rika!" Jeri suddenly squealed, throwing her arms around Rika's neck and almost knocking her to the ground.

"Yeah, Jeri, I'm me." Rika replied, ignoring the odd looks they were receiving from the other Tamers as she awkwardly petted Jeri on the back. "Hi."

"Takato!" Jeri yelled, drawing the full attention of the other Tamers, who had been pretending to play for the last few minuets. "Boys! Come up here!"

They looked reluctant, and Susie appeared to be particularly offended, but they were all smart enough not to enrage Jeri.

"Do I look that different?"

"No, it's just that you're supposed to be in the States and there are just so many look-alikes running around and I thought you looked familiar and – "

"Jeri?" Takato asked timidly as he and the other guys approached. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's great. Rika made it!" Jeri exclaimed as she finally pulled away.

Takato blinked. "Oh, really? Where is she?"

"_For the love of_ – do I look the Invisible Woman?" Rika said, glaring at the four. Kazu and Kenta, who had been shamelessly checking her out, recoiled in fear and tried to burn the few fantasies they had begun to conjure up out of their minds. Takato did a spit take worthy of an Oscar, and Henry…well, the look on his face made Rika wish that she still obsessively carried around her camera.

Susie threw her arms around Rika's neck, temporarily flying off her feet before she pulled Rika down to her level. "Oh my god, Rika! It's so cool to have you back!"

"Hey, Suse." Rika said, patting the girl lightly on the back as she tried to breathe. After a moment Susie let her go allowing Rika to see how much the younger girl had changed, which wasn't actually all that much. She still looked like she had just walked out of a Barbie catalogue, but she was now taller and definitely more woman shaped. She would have paid dearly to see the look on Henry's face when he had noticed the same thing.

Henry was next, giving her a tight hug that Rika returned gratefully. "It's good to see you again."

Followed by Takato who was a bit more hesitant. And finally Kazu and Kenta who prayed before and after their hugs.

Henry had more or less stayed the same, although he had ditched that ridiculous orange vest. Takato hadn't changed at _all_. She could have sworn that if she checked, he would probably still be wearing those same Thursday boxers. Kazu, as well, was stuck in the past but Kenta had gone through the most significant transformation. The glasses were gone and a baby bear-belly was forming.

"So, am I too late for the "Whooping Takato's Teams Collective Asses In Basketball" part, or have I come just in time to watch you all stuff your faces with foods I'm not allowed to eat?"

"As of right now," Henry informed her, "Takato's team hasn't sustained any "ass-whooping" since two of my team have disappeared somewhere."

"They're having sex in a Johnny on the Spot." Susie said quickly, but began to glance around innocently when every turned to look at her. "Who said that? Because it certainly wasn't me. I was stuck on the part where Henry said "ass"."

Henry rolled his eyes. "And Jeri's doing that "it's not about winning" thing because she's afraid of damaging Takato's fragile ego by destroying him on the court."

"That is _not_ why!" Jeri protested weakly. "It is _not_ about winning and I think that you all are taking this game way too seriously."

"See, and now we _know_ you're lying, Jer," Rika winked and grinned at the blushing girl, "'cause we all know that it _is_ all about winning. Duh."

"And rubbing it in the loser's face." Susie added.

"Of course."

Unexpectantly, Jeri through her arms around Rika's neck again and pulled her into a second hug.

"I really missed you Rika." She said loudly, looking at something over Rika's shoulder.

"Err…Jeri?"

"And on that note…" She continued more quietly, "I feel it only fair to warn you about Ryo and – Hannah!"

"Oh, sorry we took so long."

"Those Johnny on the Spot's are _so_ disgusting."

"Oh? There wasn't a trail of rose petals leading up to your throne, princess?" Susie asked cattily. "No golden seat cover?"

"Susie." Henry said in that tone that made the other Tamers forget that he hadn't been possessed by one of their parents.

"I missed your sense of humor." Rika cut in loudly, as she slung an arm over Susie's shoulders and pulled her out of her daze. "You do know that you got that from me, right?"

Susie knew that Rika was trying to give her a way out that didn't result in either a meeting between her fist and Hannah's face, or a long, stern talking-to from Henry. As much as the thought of finally slapping Hannah was tempting…she played along anyway. "That's me, Susie Sunshine: Future Queen of Comedy."

Henry cast her a sidelong, grateful look.

Ryo grinned at the seething Hannah in an attempt to placate her. "Well, what are we all just standing around for? We've got a game to finish!"

"But how are we going to finish with Rika here?" Jeri cut in as the seven began their descent back to the field, Rika and Susie bringing up the rear. "We can't just leave her out."

"Well, how about you sit this one out, Hannah? You said you didn't want to play anyway."

"Okay, on a scale of 1 to 10, how fair is that?" Susie cut in. "That's how we picked teams, right? Takato was equal to a Henry, Kazu was equal to a Kazu, a Hannah for a Kenta, and I, by some twist of fate, got to be a Ryo."

"Hey!" Kazu and Kenta called at more or less the same moment.

"Point is, Rika could wipe the floor against your team _by herself._ She _has_ wiped the floor with the four of you anyway."

"I'm a little out of practice." Rika admitted rotating her shoulder. "And I couldn't afford to strain myself – you guys just carry on without me."

"Well, if Rika isn't going to participate, I think I'll sit out as well." Jeri decided.

"I am all for the spectator aspect of this sport." Susie chimed in before turning to Ryo with a sly grin. "Do you need me to hold your shirt? Wouldn't want it to get all sweaty, would we?"

Ryo grinned back. "How very considerate of you Miss Wong."

"I'm glad that you're so concerned with Ryo's shirt and it's well-being, but I think it'll be okay if he keeps it on." Henry said, calmly although Rika was able to detect a bit of that "Over-Protective Big Brother" thing in the undertone.

"Yeah, see, nobody wants to see Ryo without his shirt on." Kazu announced finally…and ohh was that _jealousy_ Rika could hear?

"Nobody wants to see Ryo without his shirt on _except_ Susie." Takato corrected.

"And Hannah."

"Although, I'm pretty sure that she wants to do a lot more than just look." Rika teased causing the blonde girl to blush as she stammered to say something that Rika was sure would never get said.

"What, Rika, and you don't?"

Rika waved a hand dismissively. "I saw his spread in Playgirl. Wasn't impressed."

"I wasn't in Playgirl!" Ryo shouted, scandalized, at the same time Hannah said, equally outraged, "He wasn't in Playgirl!"

"He really wasn't." Susie said absently before quickly adding, "Not that I would know."

"See, they were candid shots." Rika explained. "Oh, and if you were a member of the Platinum Playgirl Club, you got a free video of him singing Sk8r Boi in his undies into a hairbrush."

"And why exactly do you know all this?" Ryo dared to ask, mortified.

Rika had imagined what the expression on his face would look like if he ever found about Playgirls black-market photos, and she had to admit, _nothing_ she could come up with had been anywhere near as hilarious. "Please, you think _I'm_ subscribed to all that stuff? Nah, man, it's Strata and Hasbro. They're big fans of your work."

"Great. Not only am I being stalked by ninja photographers who are publishing nude pictures of me without my consent, which I'm pretty sure is just all kinds of _not_ legal, you all think this is hilarious."

"It's not funny." Hannah stated firmly, taking in the clearly amused looks on the Tamers faces. Kazu and Kenta were shaking with silent laughter, Takato and Henry were biting their lips, Jeri hid her laughter behind a delicate cough, and Susie was still too sour about missing out on the nude Ryo action to laugh.

"It is _so_ funny."

"What's funny?" A tenor voice Rika could vaguely recognize called.

"Nothing, nothing." The group muttered, quickly regaining their composure as a Calvin Klein underwear model Rika had worked with briefly strolled up to the group followed by Alice.

"We come bearing news of food." Alice announced as she settled onto the ground beside Rika. They acknowledged each other with the briefest of nods before Rika caught the model giving Jeri a peck on the lips from the corner of her eye. _Interesting…_

"And what news brings you, messenger?" Kenta countered somewhat dorkishly.

"That we're not going to get any if we plan on bringing it out here."

Despite the total cornball moment, Rika had to admit that so far, this reunion thing wasn't going so bad. In fact, it didn't really even feel like a reunion. At a reunion, you all sat around trying to impress each other by regaling your friends and/or enemies with completely made up tales of adventures you could only hope they would believe. No one had asked her "what's it like being a rock star?" and it didn't look like anyone was going to make a very big deal about it. In Rika's opinion, it was more like when they would all get together in the park after school and just hang. Despite the surprise appearance of Todd, the underwear model she now remembered having done an ad with in New York, and the unwanted appearance of Hannah.

"Oh, hey, Rika. I didn't see you there at first. How've you been?" Todd asked in that somewhat dopey, forever cheerful tone he always used.

"I'm good, though I'm a bit surprised to see you here." She replied politely. She'd never had a problem with Todd. "What brings you to Japan?"

"After our bill in the States, I had enough money to take a break so here I am. What about you?"

"Well, after my second album went double platinum, I had enough money to never work a day in my life ever again, and a third of the way through our new album I told Matt he could go screw himself because I wanted to go take a break so I got on my private jet and here _I_ am. Although, I have to admit that I do like your story better."

"Wait, you two know each other?" Kenta asked.

"Wait, you have a private jet?" Kazu asked.

"Oh, yeah to both questions. Me and Mr. Third Story Bulge go way back." Rika smirked at the healthy flush generated from the implications of Todd's nickname.

"Well, hey, three on three." Jeri said, being the only one to remember their original topic and trying desperately to get rid of the visuals she had gotten. Not that anything involving Todd and…err…well, his _boy_ by way of mental images was wrong, she just preferred not to think of _Rika_ and Todd's boy. "Todd, Henry, and Kenta against Takato, Ryo, and Kazu."

"That's brilliant, Jeri! You guys run around without shirts on and we ladies just sit back, relax, and enjoy." Susie gushed.

"That _was_ how we were playing until you three decided that you wanted equal-freaking-opportunities." Kazu said as he gestured towards Jeri, Susie, and Hannah.

"Well, that's true, but now that we realize what we were missing, we've got no problem with that Me Tarzan, You Jane stuff."

With this now decided, the six boys went back to the court. Ryo crossed his arms in front of his chest, and grasping the end of his shirt, he lifted it up and over his head.

Rika couldn't help but wonder if it was just her imagination, or was there a sort of collective moan coming from the three girls beside her. Fully removing his shirt, he tossed it to a not unhappy Susie Wong with a wink. As if finally realizing what they were doing, the girls quickly looked away causing Rika to break out into laughter.

"What?" Alice managed to ask through a heavy blush.

"I will give one of you fifty bucks if you go over there and jump his bones right now." Rika stated between chuckles, off their shocked looks, she scoffed. "Oh, don't give me that look – you are _all _thinking it."

"Okay, thinking it or having highly erotic fantasies about it and actually _doing _it are two very different things." Susie reasoned.

"And it's actually kind of disturbing that I agree with her." Alice conceded, frowning slightly.

"Okay, hi! I'm Ryo's girlfriend." Hannah jumped in. "I'm the only one allowed to think about jumping his bones or to have highly erotic fantasies about him, okay?"

"Oh, sweetheart, there's a whole wide world out there that are breaking that rule right now." Alice absently told her, cocking her head in a way that told Rika she had just joined them. "Who are we to stand against the world?"

"Well, could you guys at least not talk about it with me here?"

"If we can't talk about it with you, who can we?"

"But still…"

"Oh come on." Rika said, throwing an arm around the blondes shoulder. "Lighten up! I mean, Jeri wouldn't mind if I told her that if given half the chance I'd do Todd – "

"WHAT!"

"Well, it's true." Rika shrugged.

"No, no, no, no, no, Rika, you are _not_ checking Todd out." Jeri said, burying her head in her hands.

"Yeah, he's probably gay but he's still hot. I'd do him."

"No, no! Rika! You're not allowed to think these things about boys! Boys are the Enemy. You're supposed to be mocking us boyfriend-wanting girls behind our backs." Alice pointed out. "Not plotting against us to steal them when we're not looking."

"Okay, first of all, as far as I can tell, you and Susie don't _have_ boyfriends to worry about me stealing. Chill." Rika started, counting off on her fingers. "Second, I _am_ mocking you all behind your backs as well as to your faces. And third, I am _not_ plotting to steal your boyfriends – I'm plotting to have sex with _just _Jeri's boyfriend. I don't want Ryo, three's a crowd."

Silence.

"Oh. My. God!" Jeri exclaimed, grinning so hard it looked like her face should have hurt. "Rika, that was almost girl-y of you. I mean, that was the most girlish thing I have ever heard you say."

"Yeah, it was almost, like for two seconds, I thought you were a real girl – a really bitchy, really _slutty _girl." Alice commented. "But a girl all the same."

"Yeah, well, I've been working on that whole girl/sex kitten angle _thing_ while we were touring America." Rika shrugged again. "Apparently, it's good for my image."

"I'm sorry, I'm still kind of stuck on the part where Rika says she wants to have sex with your boyfriend and you guys are all okay with it." Hannah said, stunned. "That doesn't bother any of you at all?"

"Nope."

"Not really."

"See," Alice started explaining on Hannah's behalf, "if _Rika_ says that she'd sleep with Todd it doesn't mean that she _is_ or that she ever _will_ for that matter. He and Jeri are together, and she'd never go behind Jeri's back and have sex with Todd, even if they had broken up."

"Unless it was an amicable split and they had my permission to give things a go." Jeri added seriously. "It's all in the girl code."

"Okay, we shouldn't be talking about this." Susie cut in, a heavy frown on her face that had only grown since Hannah had joined in their little "bonding" experience. "_We_ should be watching the boys out there working up a sweat."

"Yeah, but I think I'd like to learn more about this Girl Code – "

"Okay, Watching Hot Guys or Teaching Hannah the Girl Code…is this really up for debate?"

Jeri and Alice looked somewhat uncomfortable with how cross Susie had sounded, but they both remained silent.

"Hey, Suse? You think you could show me where those Johnny on the Spots are?" Rika asked.

"What for? You gotta pee? Does wittle wika need to use the wittle giwls woom?"

Rika smirked as she stood from her spot on the grass, waiting only a moment for Susie to follow suit. "Oh, you poor dear. Did that lisp come back already?"

Susie narrowed her eyes. "You just had to bring that up didn't you?" she asked as the two left the group, heading towards the restrooms.

"If you would stop trying to be a smart ass and just make nice with her, I wouldn't be stuck trying to play referee."

"What ever do you mean?"

"I'm talking about Hannah. I swear, in another 30 seconds I was sure she was just going to reach over and try to gauge your eyes out." Rika said as she removed a crumpled pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket. She was not a chain smoker, but still partook in the ritual "lighting a cigarette during stressful situations" thing one of the drummers, which was surprisingly enough not Finn, had started her on. Rika offered one to Susie, who's eyes widened in shock before politely declining.

"I didn't know you smoked." Susie said as Rika dug through the pockets of Finn's denim jacket for a bic.

"Only when I feel like I'm turning into my mother." She casually lit the cigarette and took a long drag before she continued. "What exactly is your deal with Hannah anyway? She's not exactly head of the class and she's a bit _Fear _when it comes to Ryo, but a little Mark Wahlberg never hurt anybody."

"Except for Gary. And anyone else that came between him and Reese Witherspoon." Susie said thoughtfully.

"Bad movies aside, this doesn't have anything to do with that humongo-gigantasized crush you have on Ryo, does it?"

Susie blushed. "_No_ because for 1.) I do not have a "humongo-gigantasized" crush on Ryo and for 2.) I don't like her for other reasons."

"Which are?"

"Well, for starters you've never seen her eat. She always does this little pinky-waggling thing like she's all superior and it just bugs me, okay? And another thing, it's like, the more we get to know her, the more we realize that her "hidden depths" are about a centimeter and a half deep. Oh and then, it's like, when we're all just hanging out – minus Ryo – she's basically getting into arguments with Kazu about who kisses his ass better."

Rika quickly cut her off before Susie could really build momentum. "And those reasons have nothing to do with the big fat crush you have on Ryo?"

"There is no crush, Rika."

"What color are his eyes?" She asked quickly.

"Cerulean."

"What's his best feature?"

"Definitely the eyes. They aren't even a real color – cerulean is the closest I could get – and trust me, I _looked_. Henry thought I was crazy when I dumped a box of 768 Count 'Em Crayons on the floor and through everything but the blues away. It's just that his eyes can see right through…me." Susie came out of her dreamy rant and looked towards the ground guiltily, her blush spreading down the collar of her shirt. "I am such an idiot…okay…so maybe there's a _teensy-tiny_ bit of a crush. So what?"

"Susie, Susie, Susie." Rika tsked as she threw an arm over the younger girls shoulder. "Why couldn't you have a crush on Kazu, huh?"

Susie pulled away quickly. "What? Are you trying to say – that I haven't got a chance?"

"No, what I'm trying to point out is that you had to have a crush on the one Tamer that's already taken. Besides Jeri and I am just going to assume that you don't have a crush on her."

"Well, none of the others are worth having a crush on!" Susie protested somewhat petulantly. "And Jeri's just got way too many girly parts for me."

"Well, then find a _guy_ that _isn't_ a _Tamer_." Rika said matter-of-factly, and the unspoken "duh" tacked on to the end was so loud that Susie winced.

Rika took another long drag from her cigarette, which was only good for about one more before it was done, and she began to pat herself down again. Before Susie could make a crack about how she had thought that chain smokers waited to finish their first before lighting up a second, Rika pulled out a blinking and vibrating cell phone from the inner pocket of the denim jacket. She pressed a few buttons as her eyes flitted across the screen and took the final drag. After she crushed the cigarette on the side of a Johnny on the Spot, something Susie didn't think was too smart but didn't comment on, Rika smirked.

"And I think I just found the perfect opportunity."

Rika didn't explain further as she spun on her heel and headed back towards where the other Tamers were.

"Wait, that's it? We walked all the way down here so you could check your phone messages in private?"

"Well, I was really just trying to ensure that you and Hannah wouldn't get into a bitch-fest and ruin the night for everybody."

"Don't worry. I'll play nice." Susie conceded, raising her hands in a surrendering gesture. "As long as I don't have to sit through any of their lovey dubby crap, I'll be as tame as a baby kitten."

"For some reason, I'm beginning to suspect that _breathing_ on Hannah's part is going to be considered a lovey-dubby thing, isn't it?"

"Oh, Rika, I'll be generous. As long as they aren't sharing breath, she can breathe all she wants."

Rika perched a second cigarette between her lips, before deciding against it and stuffing it back in the pack. The pack, and the bic, disappeared into one of the jacket pockets.

"So, besides the fact that Hannah is a pinky-waggling Kazu with girl parts that will never drown, why do you really want to donate her body to science?" Rika asked, curiously. She for one was happy that Ryo finally had someone.

"To further medical research?" Susie tried, pulling that "I'm-two-years-old-and-I-can't-find-my-parents-will-you-help-me?" innocent look, which Rika saw right through.

"Somehow I don't think you're that selfless."

"Well, then you don't know me half as well as you thought you did." Susie informed her, a certain, however small, level of disdain and bitterness present in her voice.

Rika stopped and watch as Susie continued walking. In a way, Susie was right. It _had_ been two years. She didn't know any of the Tamers that well anymore.

When they arrived back at their place by the basketball court, Takato's team was celebrating their victory and their official cheerleader, Hannah, was with them. Jeri was split between trying to say congratulations to Takato and be sympathetic with Todd.

_Not to self,_ Rika thought, _avoid love triangles._

But even with this thought, Rika felt somewhat detached from the scene. Almost, as if she didn't belong there.

"I know that fireworks are great and all, but…" Rika started, waiting until she had everyone's attention but careful not to catch anyone's eye. Partly afraid that she would see her thoughts reflected in their eyes. Partly hoping that instead, someone would try to catch hers. "Anybody in the mood to party with a rock star?"

Rika looked everywhere but at the others. They looked everywhere except for at Rika.

Somehow, she was not reassured.

**Author's Note:** Now you'll notice, not a lot of Ryo in this chapter. Consequently, there is not a lot of Ryuki. But alas! I'm trying to stretch this out to cover all…18 (?) lines of the song (well, there's eighteen if you don't recount the chorus which I will probably stupidly do anyway). More or less, this is (what I have been led to believe) called a "filler". Also, I'd like to extend my apologies for the super slow update. I was waiting on a download for my computer, which should have taken a week, and I guess I timed it out wrong. And then, I would have posted but wasn't letting me use the Document Manager. It kept saying something, like, "there is too much traffic at this time and to please try again later". Anyway, now that _that's _done, One Girl Revolution should be back on its regular rotation. Just in case there are actually people still reading this that is. Which, after almost a month and half, I assume is no one.

Ah well, if someone does manage to stumble upon this, I hope they review!

PS: This is added at the very end because I have just finished my fifth read through of this chapter and although I am not wholly satisfied with it, it is the best I can do. If anyone finds any of this confusing, leave it in the review and I will try to clear up what I can.

Thank you.

It is 2:09 AM of Saturday August 12, 2006.

I really need a life.


	5. If All You See Is How I Look

**One Girl Revolution**

**By Fantasya**

**Summary:** **Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

**Chapter Five: If All You See Is How I Look**

O

The floor literally thumped from the bass of the song. Dozens of bodies were moving in time with each other and the music blaring out over the dance floor. The club smelled of vomit, sweat, smoke, booze, and sex. Bodies writhed out on the strobe-lit dance floor. A heavy S&M scene. Leather. Latex. Tattoos. Body-piercings. A D.J., wearing head mounted spotlights, orchestrates the tunes on twin-decks, mixed with popular music screeching from the overhead speakers. The new sound was a creation like no other with a beat so heavy it could jar the fillings from your teeth.

Rika was home.

A rousing cheer rang up from the dance floor and around the bar area, and it took her only a second longer to see the glitter covered "Happy Birthday, Rika!" sign that stretched across the room.

Oh, Rika loved clubbing. Yes, she had been technically underage until today but she had been even more underage when she had first started. The clubbing thing hadn't started when she had become Rika Nonaka lead singer of the Lonely Lights. No, it had started when she was 5 and her mother's career was at its peak. Strangers that smelled homeless dancing around her and talking about things that Rika shouldn't have been able to understand. While these memories would seem unpleasant to anyone else, those were the only times Rika had ever actually spent time with her mother. And that was worth all of the therapy she had later needed to receive.

A whistle (**what are those little blower things people use at birthday parties called?**) shrilled next to her ear and without any warning, she was almost tackled by a familiar pink-eyed partygoer.

"Oh my god, Rika, you made it!" Was Finn's somewhat wild greeting as she pulled away and examined the group behind her, excitedly. "And you must be the Tamers! Tamers, party of…well," She grinned drunkenly, "there are more than three but less than twelve…and if you would stop moving, this would be so much easier. There are…"

"Uh…ten?" Kenta supplied helpfully.

"Ten! Tamers, party of ten! To the V.I.P.!" Finn then began a drunken march towards the exit. She didn't make it more than a few steps before Rika caught the collar of her shirt and pulled her back.

"V.I.P. is this way, Finn." Rika sighed as she led the group in the opposite direction.

She took them up a flight of stairs and after telling the doorman what he could do with his baton, they were admitted into a room that overlooked the dance floor. There were only about twenty people, all of which seemed to be the "in" crowd. They cheered heartily and then turned back to the free bar.

"Finn, how much have you had to drink?"

"Hmmm…" She turned to a nearby table and slowly her fingers came up while she whispered, "umm…one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…ten." Then she stopped, her nose was wrinkling and she had a confused look on her face, as if trying to figure out why she didn't have enough fingers to keep counting.

"Ten beers don't get you drunk Finn."

"Who said I was drunk?" Finn responded, exultant grin appearing. "You know I'm no good with math!" With another spontaneous giggle, she did a slow spin around the room. Spotting a waitress, she called her over. "More ale wench!"

The harassed looking woman, early twenties and strawberry blonde hair, quickly bustled over and cleared the table while the Tamers sat down, pulling chairs from other tables in order to fit. "How many times do I have to ask you not to call me that?"

"Oh, you know you like it." The woman blushed to the tips of her ears and tried to duck her head to hide it.

"What can I get you?" She asked.

The Tamers glanced warily at each other. Finally, Takato spoke up. "Eh, beer?"

Finn gasped loudly and stood up from the table, knocking her chair back. "Beer? You order beer?" She said the word as if it were beneath her. "What kind of friends are you?"

"Finn, it's really not that big of a – "

"It's a free bar! Key word being free and you order beer? What are you in high school?" Finn didn't let anyone defend themselves before she turned back to the waitress. "Pay no heed to the idiotic drink choice of these first timers. We'll have two slow, comfortable screw for the love birds over here." She winked at Ryo and Hannah. "Better still, make that one comfortable screw on the rocks with two straws."

"And what else?"

"An appletinis for…what's your name Blondie?"

"Todd."

"Right. An appletinis for "Todd". 2 panty droppers for my lady friends and a round of blow jobs for my girl and the fellas." She turned towards Susie and sent her a cheeky grin, before turning back to the waitress. "And a milk for Susie. We want her to get a good nights sleep for the big test so make sure it's warm, m'kay?"

The Tamers were slack jawed as the waitress nodded and went to fill the order.

"Those were names of drinks?" Kenta asked, glasses slipping over his nose.

"Like actual names?" Kazu added.

"Well, if you Google them, I don't think you'll get anything like it, but yeah. House specialties."

"Hey there, sweetheart." A silky voice purred, actually purred, as an anorexic blonde model in a shirt with the word MERCURY across the chest and a belt literally slithered over to their table. She wasn't ugly but Rika was sure that she had probably seen better days. Those days were probably few and far between, probably her few sober days. Or maybe she'd gone a few rounds with Big Foot? "Me and my friend over there," she paused for dramatic effect and winked at a none-too-sober buddy at the bar, "were wondering if you could spare us a dance? That is, if your girlfriend is okay with it."

"Err…" Takato turned a furious shade of red and tore his eyes away from her heaving bosom to Jeri for a split second before they returned to the cleavage of doom. He could barely talk right now and he may have forgotten how to form actual words. "Guh?"

Yeah, good ol' Takato.

"Go ahead, schnookums." Rika cut in when it looked like he was about to faint. Everyone turned to her in shock but she only grinned and continued to look at Takato. "This will be your last night of bachelorism and I think you should enjoy it." She leaned over and patted his cheek condescendingly when he didn't move. "Go on."

Mercury pulled Takato out of his seat, through the doors of VIP, down the stairs, and onto the dance floor below. Immediately, Rika and the Tamers crossed the room and looked down through the glass that overlooked the dance floor. Takato and Mercury swayed. Her lupine-featured friend, only distinguishable in the crowd because of the streak of white running through her raven hair, moved behind Takato, pressing up against him. Rika accepted the pair of binoculars offered to her from Finn, who got them from God's Wondering Where. She watched as Mercury's friend, whom we will call Rogue for no obvious reason, flicked her tongue against Takato's ear. Takato was sandwiched between Mercury and Rogue, the three of them dry-humping their way to every man's glory.

"Careful, love," Finn warned Jeri in-between her snickers, "your green is showing."

"H-How did Takato score that?" Kazu stammered as he and Kenta unabashedly watched the scene.

"It's the goggles." Finn informed them seriously. "The goggles are sexy."

"The goggles are sexy as hell." Alice agreed, gaining the attention of all the Tamers. "What? They are."

"Um, shouldn't you guys give them some privacy?" Hannah asked quietly.

"Pfft, as if." Susie gave an unladylike snort. "No, we've got to be there for when Takato royally screws this up."

"I don't know," Rika said, "Takato can be quite the Casanova when he wants to be."

"Please, you remember the time with Delaney last year?" Kenta countered.

"Who's Delaney?"

"Or Akiko after her?" Susie joined in; laughing at whatever memory Rika had obviously missed.

"And Alexandria." Kazu threw in with an exaggerated pronouncing of her name.

"Or "the birth certificate says Monica but I prefer **Destiny**"." Alice raised her voice to an annoying whine Rika never wanted to hear again.

Again they continued like that, naming every one of Takato's failed relationships that Rika had missed. Odd thing, even Todd and Hannah could keep up. Rika sat back, out of the conversation. Finn sent her a curious look before jumping up, grabbing her by the hand, and dragging her from her seat.

They were on the dance floor in two seconds flat.

By the middle of the first song, she'd closed her eyes and just started swaying to the music—trying to pretend she was alone in her room, listening to a CD. The floor beneath her feet practically shook with bass rumble and she took her cues from the dancers around her, lifting her arms up and just swaying in time to the music. She was strangely relaxed. There was something so simple about just... dancing. Letting herself go. Not being Rika Nonaka: Ice Bitch Extraordinaire every second. Being anonymous and sexy and free. It was a good feeling.

Rika let her hair down and threw her head back. A guy was at her side in less than a minute and he was just her type. Somewhat long dark blonde hair and the darkest blue eyes she had ever had the pleasure of viewing. And he was horny which just made this all that much more fun.

She must have been out there for an hour straight and she didn't even care. She periodically changed partners, having lost her blonde Adonis to Finn some time ago, but otherwise lost herself. The song came to an end, and she saw Finn elbowing her way through the crowd to get to her.

"Aqua!" Finn appeared suddenly at her side screaming in her ear.

"What?"

"Aqua, aqua, aqua! We need to refuel!" The chant was all she could hear as she was dragged away from an all-hands partner and back up to VIP.

Rika collapsed into an empty chair giggling, honest to God giggling, which probably had something to do with the three drinks Finn had dared her to down on the way up the stairs, and looked at her party mates.

Jeri was giving Takato a cold shoulder that would have had Jack Frost green with envy. Susie was pouting and staring at a tall glass of milk. Todd was proving that the Appletinis was definitely his drink (Appletinis being the favored drink of Strata and Hasbro hint hint). Alice and Kenta were trying to coax Kazu off a nearby table he was attempting to break dance on. Ryo and Hannah were…staring at each other. No really. No talking, no nothing. Just staring into each other's eyes as if words would ruin the moment.

Before Rika could throw a straw at them – the only weapon available besides Henry's still full shot glass – Finn plopped down into Henry's lap.

"Hi, who are you again?"

"Henry."

"Right, right. Well, um…Henry, I'm trying to talk to Rika and you're in the seat next to her so… I'm in the seat you're in!" Finn paused. "Dude, I just said "urine"."

"No, Henry, she's not even drunk. She's always that childish." Rika explained before he could ask.

"Oh, anyway, Rika, you will not believe what happened. The bartender his on me!"

"Hits?"

"Yeah, that. His. His. Hits. The bartender hits on me!"

"What's so unbelievable about that?"

"He's, like, twice my age! And, like, just as ugly as someone that age. You know, someone that age that isn't famous."

Rika snickered. "Finn. Shut up."

"No, no. You'll miss the best part. I tell him I'm gay. What does he say?"

"I don't know. Do I look psychic?"

"With the eyes kind of…But no! Henry, you're a guy. What does an interested guy always say to a lesbian?" Finn asked seriously, turning towards the increasingly uncomfortable Henry.

"Err…uh, I've never been in this kind of situation so…I have no idea."

Finn furrowed her brow. "What's your last name?"

"I don't get it. Why would a guy ask what's your last name?" Henry frowned.

"No, you, Henry. What's your last name?"

"Oh, Wong. Why?"

"So anyway," Finn jumped back into the story, her mind already off of whatever her previous train of thought had been. "He says he's got no problem with that. Says that he's got a big bed. The perv."

"So, I'm assuming that you came up with something else?" Rika guessed, grabbing Henry's forgotten shot off of the table when it was obvious that he wouldn't drink.

"Of course. I told him that my husband, Henry, didn't mind either." She turned to the shocked Henry. "So if this huge 6'4" bald guy comes over here to kick your ass and steal me away to ravage my delectable body day and night over and over and over…you defend my honor 'til your dying breath." She tapped him on the inside of his thigh to exaggerate her point. "Defend it."

"Wait, why am I defending your anything?" Henry asked stubbornly. "I'm not a fighter."

"I'm sitting in your lap. You better defend something!"

"You're in my lap without my permission."

"Just 'cause I don't have your permission, darlin', doesn't make you like it any less, okay? I charge men your age enough to pay my rent for this position alone."

"Wait, you're a – "

"No." Rika quickly interrupted despite how much she was enjoying listening to them argue. Was this what people saw when she did it? "Finn's a compulsive liar."

"I am not!"

"See, she's lying right now." Rika chuckled again before movement caught the corner of her eye. It was the bartender and he didn't look happy. "Incoming." She whispered.

Finn glanced over Henry's shoulder, her eyes widened.

"What's going on?"

Before he could look to, Finn grabbed him by the chin and made him face her. "Okay, Rika's right. I lied about charging men to sit in their laps although that would just be the best job ever…but I'm not lying when I say this…I am incredibly attracted to you…thus the sitting in your lap."

…

…

"What's so bad over my shoulder that you just looked me in the eye and lied to me?"

Finn's jaw dropped. "How in the hell did you do that?"

"You're a good liar but I'm a middle child and I've seen through enough of my siblings to know when to spot one. What's behind me?"

"You just turned me down."

"Don't sound so surprised."

"You just turned me down."

"That's not surprise, Henry, that's anger." Rika informed him. "And she's sitting atop very vital body parts. You may want to think of something."

But Henry didn't need to. Flicking her eyes over his shoulder again and made a decision.

She tilted his face upwards and quickly kissed him before he could object.

"I'm not angry Henry." Finn said in a gentle tone that immediately put Henry on edge.

"Wha-huh? You're not?"

"No." Finn shook her head, a sad smile on her face even as her voice got high enough to catch the attention of the entire room. "If being with other men makes you happy –"

"WHAT?!" Henry would have jumped up from his seat if Finn weren't in his lap. Kiss forgotten almost immediately.

"- Then, damnit, Henry Wong, you be with other men!" With an over-dramatized sniffle, she placed her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply through her nose. She was the picture of "dealing". She sniffled again and made some kind of a whimpering noise in the back of her throat. "I'm sorry – I have to – "

Abruptly, she jumped up from his lap and disappeared. More than a little worried, Henry slowly turned around.

6'4".

Bald.

It was the bartender. Henry gave the man a hesitant smile as he tried to think of ways to get out of this situation without a fight. Apparently, the bartender had other ideas as he held his hands up in a defensive manner and quickly disappeared. Looking around the room confusedly – I mean, seriously, there weren't enough people there for the bartender to disappear through – Harry spotted his friends grouped together shooting him a wide variety of looks.

Takato was openly staring at him, as if this was the first time he had truly seen Henry while Jeri had a sort of knowing smile on her face and she gave him an encouraging thumbs up. Kenta alternated between shooting worried glances at Kazu – still break dancing away – and Henry. Hannah and Ryo were still lost in each other. Susie had the same kind of look on her face as Jeri. Alice, strangely, wouldn't meet his gaze.

Todd winked at him.

With a shudder, Henry turned towards a grinning Rika. "Your friend is twisted."

Rika shrugged. "That's Finn."

He looked from her all-too amused face to the shot on the table. "Are you going to drink that?"

"Go right ahead." Laughing, she slid the shot across the table. "Oh, you need it so much more than I do."

A motion to their right, made them turn towards the sickeningly sweet Ryo and Hannah. Hannah slowly rose from her seat and made her way towards the doors that led to the ladies' room, all the while keeping eye contact with Ryo. At the door, she blew him a kiss. Rika gagged.

"What?" Ryo asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Henry said quickly. Turning towards Rika, they sighed in unison and began staring at each other, knowing that if they did it long enough, without moving a muscle, Ryo would freak out. Sure enough, not a minute had gone by when…

"Okay, guys, I get it."

"You guys can stop now."

"Rika, Henry, stop it."

"It's not funny y'know."

"Guys, I said stop it…"

"Goddamit, guys, it's freaking me out!"

Henry and Rika broke apart, laughing at the near-hyperventilating Ryo.

"Now you know how we felt."

"Sacre merde!" Muttered Alice, shaking her head in distaste and exhausting her mastery of the French language. She and Susie passed the table and stooped next to Rika. Susie pointed towards the entrance.

"This is one of those rare times when I wish I still had that book of fashion citations I printed off back in the fourth grade."

Rika nodded. "Pull that skank over. She needs a ticket and pants."

The violator in question was some chippy that was trying to flirt her way into VIP. She was dressed in just enough clothes to not be arrested for public indecency. Low-riding, frayed Daisy Dukes stopped almost at the point where her thighs began. A toddler's wife beater tied up just below perky, preposterous breasts, a cheap pair of Payless pumps, a straw cowboy hat, and pink body glitter completed the ensemble.

The two girls chuckled before heading over to the table where Todd, Jeri, and Finn were.

"Ew, what's with her face?" Ryo asked after a second, before picking up his untouched drink.

"I'm guessing that she over-applied when she woke up this morning in a frat house, hung-over and searching for her diaphragm." Rika answered dryly. Ryo immediately started choking. Henry gave his back a few hearty thumps.

"Buck up, Pretty Boy, or I'll have to get Wendy Whoppers over there to come give you the Heimlich." Rika said cheerfully.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Make sure you have the CDC on speed-dial before you do."

As Ryo tried to catch his breath, Rika continued to study the girl. "Who does she think she's fooling with those fake knockers? Those boobs are so new they've probably still got the tags on them."

"Why would any girl do that to herself?" Henry wondered out loud.

"Oh, don't pretend like you're not creaming your jeans just looking at them." All Henry did was blush, so Rika turned towards Ryo with a raised eyebrow. He raised his hands, palms out, in a defensive gesture.

"Hey, all I can say is that I have firmly embraced the concept of recycling plastic and worshiping the bounty of nature."

She snorted, but turned pensive, "But...one day they'll sag."

"Nope. Not those twins. They'll be held up in perpetuity," he assured.

She rolled her eyes, "That defies physics."

Ryo merrily retorted, "I failed physics. Just like I have no doubt your girls will defy gravity forever. Of course, if you need an Atlas to hold them up..."

"I'll call anyone but you," she derisively chortled.

"You guys do know that I'm sitting right here and can hear every word, right?" Henry cut in, smiling, breaking the moment. "I swear, you guys. Do you – do you even know how entertaining you really are?"

Four tables over, over the rim of her now full shot glass, Finn watched their exchange with an amused smile. After a moments thought, she slammed the shot back and firmly placed the glass back on the table.

"I bet I'll have Ryo and Rika out on the dance floor inside of fifteen minutes." Finn announced without preamble.

The three girls looked at each other astonished.

"Wow, that was certainly random." Todd spoke up first.

Finally, Susie laughed and reached across to shake Finn's hand, sealing the deal.

"Oh, you are on, my friend. We tried for years and nothing worked."

"Are you sure you want to take that bet, Susie?" Jeri asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hell yeah! If she can't, I win. If she can – am I the only one that realizes how hot Ryo and Rika are together? If she can make that come true, I will have won anyway."

Alice screwed her nose up. "I'm sorry, but eww. You fantasize about Ryo and Rika?"

"Well, yeah, kinda." Susie shrugged, but she was grinning. "Although in the fantasies, Rika's looks remarkably like a certain pink-haired girl whose name begins with SUSE and ends in E, but that's a moot point don't you think?"

"Well," Finn started, a thoughtful expression on her face, "I was sort of thinking on some Kazu and Kenta action but hey every girl's got to dream right?" She raised her glass. "To each her own?"

Jeri choked on her panty dropper and Alice raised her glass in a mock toast as she openly laughed. "To each her own, indeed."

**Author Note:** What would a Ryuki be without a club scene? It would be blasphemy that's what!

Also, we've got all these nifty little love triangles and rectangles and pentagons now! Ooh! Fascinating! Actually, even though it may or may not be obvious, but there are three love triangles and one pentagon. But that doesn't make them any less nifty.

**Okay, now here's the part where I beg and plead for your forgiveness for not updating something like a month ago when I was supposed to. **And I would, but right now I'm in a really crappy mood. Yes, Me the Forever Optimistic Andrea wants to do nothing more than pummel someone. So, instead of begging for your forgiveness and bribing cookies to reviewers, I've already put one apology on my profile and I'll probably just expand upon that one when I've got the time.

Also, a little notice/question: the fbomb is dropped a few times (about 7 to be exact) in the next chapter. Should I rewrite the chapter to exclude the offensive words or change the rating or just leave a warning or what?

I've run spell check and I've re-read this chapter 3 times. crosses fingers I hope I got everything or at least most things.

Today is the 28th of October. It is 12:34 AM. In 12 hours, I'm going to the Art Institute for National Porfolio Day. Wish me luck! crosses fingers!


	6. You Miss The Superchick Within

**One Girl Revolution**

**By Fantasya**

**Summary:** **Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

**WARNING: The FBomb is dropped a few times in this chapter so watch out.**

**Chapter Six: You Miss The Superchick Within**

O

"Where did Finn go?" Henry asked, thirty minutes later. Finn had occasionally come back to the table for more drinks, but after the third visit, the guy had started paying. The dance floor wasn't overly crowded so it was obvious that Finn was gone. Last they had seen her, Finn was barely standing on her own, or sitting and kissing as the case was, her guy more than happy to support her by now.

"You didn't see where they went?" Rika countered accusingly, looking around hurriedly for any sign of her friend, a sudden cold feeling overtook her.

"Aw, nuts." Takato muttered as he slammed his glass on the table to go look for her.

Meanwhile, Finn was roughly shoved against the bathroom wall, while the guy whose name she _still_ didn't know, attacked her neck. She realized a while ago, when she had first started to kiss him, that she didn't feel anything akin to attraction to him. He was cute, yeah, but that was it. He was a sloppy kisser and right now he was actually biting her neck in a not so sensual way.

She knew she was wasted. Her head was dizzy and the painting across the hall that she was focusing on was quickly splitting into four semi-identical paintings of blurs instead of one. At this point, she was surprised that her knees were still holding her up. There were already several couples severely making out around them, most of which were about as wasted as herself.

"Let's get out of here, my car's outside…" He mumbled as he continued a trail over her jaw. He grabbed her hands in an attempt to haul her out after him, but someone up there had granted Finn more power over her legs than she thought she had. She only wanted fun; she was _definitely_ not planning on a quickie in Screw Boy's backseat.

"No thanks." She declined politely, rubbing her eyes. He stalked determinately towards her and forced another one of his kisses on her. He then grabbed her hands and tried to pull her away again.

"I said no thanks." She managed to mutter again, this time louder.

"Why not, baby? You look like you need to forget something and I can help you with that." The guy said with a smirk he must have thought seductive. In her opinion, it only made him look all the more hideous in her un-sober eyes.

_She looked around for Johnny but couldn't find him anywhere. It was the release party for the first Lonely Lights CD, **Only For This Moment**, but that didn't mean her presence was necessary, right?The party was packed but dull. Not much was happening and they had all decided to just to go find a local club instead._

_She checked the dining hall room by room to see where he was, wondering if he was with some of his friends._

_He had never gotten along with Rika, Aldo, Strata, or Hasbro. But she liked him. He was nice and sweet. Not to mention he had the physique of a Greek god. Nope, that had nothing to do with it. Mostly. Sorta. Kinda._

_She had to admit, he made her happy, and she was happy with him. It had been a long time since she had been. She wasn't in love, she wasn't even thinking about that, but she cared for him._

_She walked towards the bathroom where a long line had formed._

"_God, who's in there?"_

"_Your boy-toy. Can you tell him to hurry up already?" One of the guys in line muttered sardonically even though his eyes were half-closed and he was smiling at nothing at all. _**Most likely stoned**_ Finn thought._

_She walked up to the bathroom and firmly knocked._

_No answer._

"_God, he's probably just shit-faced." She reasoned to the stoned brunette. She pushed the door open to see if he was passed out._

_But he wasn't spread eagle across the floor about to drown in his own vomit. His face wasn't pressed into the smooth surface of the seat as he reacquainted himself with everything he wished he'd eaten._

_All there was, was his bare back, a tangle of far too many limbs, and one too many brunette heads appearing from behind his own head._

After that, everything was a blur. She assumed that she must have yelled or _something_ because Strata heard and came rushing to her. She remembered Rika taking her outside, and Hasbro and Aldo meeting Strata upstairs. The next thing she knew, she was back at her room leaning over the toilet.

The guy in front of her was pulling on her wrist again but this time with more force and she couldn't even stand straight any more. She drunkenly stumbled into his awaiting arms.

"I don't want to." She whined, trying to force herself free but his grip on her only tightened. "Stop."

"Come on, you stupid tease." The guy growled.

"Uh, buddy, you'd do best to let her go." She felt a surge of relief as she looked up to see four identical murderous glares and was even more relieved when she found they weren't directed at her.

"He said to let her go." Kazu said more forcefully, nothing like the party-animal Finn had seen before.

"Get out of here! She came to _me_. She obviously doesn't want you pussy schoolboys anymore. Deal with it." Mr. Soon To Be In A World of Hurt spat stupidly. _Oh yeah, this is **not**__going to end well._

"School _boys_?" Rika repeated, the smirk forming on her face revealed that this wasn't going to end well.

"Just let me go, dumbass." Finn hissed, not being able to help getting the dig in. This guy _really_ had no idea what he was getting in to.

"Shut up." He growled at her and tried to push passed the human wall.

In a set of movements Finn would swear couldn't have happened by means other than magic, Takato grabbed her shoulder while Son-of-a-Pacifist Henry Wong knocked the guy in the face with a well-aimed punch and sent him sprawled out across the room.

Her wrist was now free and she was safe in Takato's well-toned arms. He led her out towards the bathroom door where the one patron who had sensed the rising tension had escaped only minutes before, and began making out with a young blonde girl outside the door. She was ushered into Jeri's surprisingly maternal embrace with her bruised wrist cradled to her chest and her head buried into Jeri's shoulder. Takato instructed something to Jeri who nodded frantically although Finn couldn't hear a word he said. Her mind was still back in that bathroom. Frozen into her memory was that dark look in Rika's eyes the moment she saw her. Never before in her life had she seen that look on his face.

And she was suddenly very frightened.

The other lascivious patrons quickly took the hint and stampeded from the restrooms. Finn heard a loud crack and winced. For a while there was silence until a strangled cry reached her ear, so quiet she thought that she'd imagined it. There was another sound of a blow landing before Rika lead her out by the elbow.

"What the hell, Finn, what's up with you?" Rika demanded.

"Huh?" Finn asked, feeling defensive.

Jeri took a deep breath and turned her away from Rika. "Are you okay?" She inspected Finn's pale wrist in the dark light. "He didn't look like the type that would do that."

"It's her own fucking fault." Finn heard Rika ground out before she could say anything.

"What?" Jeri insisted as Rika stalked towards Finn, fists clenched.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She yelled harshly, making her flinch.

"I was just dancing with him…" She whispered, suddenly feeling very small.

"What-fucking-ever, Finn. We all saw _how_ you were dancing. And what the hell were you thinking just walking off with him? Did you think he was about to give you a _tour_? You were asking for him to do that! You were fucking _teasing_ the fucker, what the hell did you expect? For him to be satisfied with a quick little make out session in the halls? I _know_ you're not _that_ fucking stupid." She continued ranting.

Finn hiccupped, close to tears. "I'm sorry…"

"You fucking should be, Finn! That guy was half-drunk and here comes a little high school drop-out _throwing_ herself at him! You're lucky we found you!"

"I said I was fucking sorry!" She yelled, breaking away from Jeri and walking forward so she could stand eye to eye with Rika. She could feel the moisture behind her eyes. Never had Rika yelled at her. Ever. Not even when they were just playing. And never had she looked at her like she was filth. "What the hell do you want from me?"

"I want you to start _thinking_, Finn! I won't be there every second to come in and save your ass – "

"Well excuse the hell out of me for the interruption, Miss Nonaka, but as I recall, you haven't been here the last two years and I've taken care of myself just fine!"

"Oh, yeah, great job you've been doing there – "

"I think you two just calm down – "

"Stay out of this, Jeri – "

"Don't talk to her like that she's trying to you a fav – "

"Jeri's right we all need to just – "

" – Calm down – "

" – Use your head – "

" – Take a deep breath – "

" – Shut up and go home!"

Everyone fell silent, the Tamers and Rika stared at Finn in shock.

"Is that what you want to hear 'cause I got no problem saying it again." The blonde continued. "Go and hop on that fancy private jet of yours, go stateside, go to Europe, or Australia just - just get the hell out of my face! You wanna be mad at someone? Well go be mad someplace you'd rather be."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You know just as well as I do what I'm talking about." Finn laughed, though it was humorless and bitter, something none of the Tamers had associated with her before now. "You're not mad because some sleaze wanted a quickie in the backseat of his Volvo. 'Cause Good God, Rika, how many of those have we seen over the years? How many stoned groupies you seen get _dragged_ out of a concert and not _drag_ back?

"Don't pretend like this is about me 'cause you know who I am Rika. Johnny certainly didn't change that – 'prolly made it worse. Wyatt didn't change that. Two years without you and you can't seem to figure out who the hell I am. But I know who you are and I can see it in those pretty little eyes of yours."

As if she had been slapped, Rika took a deep, steadying breath to calm herself down. "Finn – "

"You don't even get it, do you? Probably too busy wondering how you went from the screamer to the screamee in ten seconds flat, huh?" Finn laughed again, this one hollower than the last. "Then let me spell it out for you, Rika. I've tried to pretend like nothing's changed but every time I look at you I can see how much you don't want to be here. So don't. Do exactly what you did to me when Johnny and I broke up. You remember, don't you?"

Rika remembered. After Johnny and Finn's very public break-up, Yamato had told her that Finn quit. In her anger, she had delivered Finn's bus ticket back to Shinjuku herself, and then hopped onto her own plane that took her to Europe. Until two years ago, at the Digimon Tournament when Finn had helped Rika perform a song in memory Seiko, Rika had never looked back.

Finn continued to stare at her intently before walking away.

"Finn!" Rika called.

"I'm not driving. I only live a few minutes away." The blonde called back tiredly. She stopped and turned to look back at Rika with a sad smile. "'Night."

Rika almost laughed. Some noise did escape her throat, something between a strangled laugh and a choked sob. Only Finn would scream at her, venting out everything she wanted to say so fast that she jumped topic without even finishing the last train of thought, and then just walk away like that. Rika looked up at the Tamers, all of whom watched her with the same concerned expression. She looked at Henry and nodded in Finn's direction. "Could you - ?"

She didn't need to finish the question. Henry nodded. "Yeah, I'll make sure she makes it home. Are you gonna be okay?"

Rika nodded. Even though Henry didn't quite believe her, he left.

"It's okay, Rika, I'm sure she didn't mean that." Jeri came forward next, gently touching Rika on the shoulder. "You said she's your best friend. She's probably just stressed."

Rika didn't respond.

"Come on, Pumpkin, I'll take you home." Ryo said, walking towards her and grabbing her hand.

"Ryo?" Hannah silently tacked on a pitiful _what about me?_, even though what she really wanted to do was grab his ear and yell "_PUMPKIN?!_"

"Todd, you wouldn't mind taking Hannah home for me, would you? You two live in the same direction, right?"

"Sure, no problem, Ryo-man." Todd offered a gentle smile to Rika and motioned Hannah towards his car. "It's not too out of the way."

"Thanks."

"Come on, Susie, I'll drop you off with Alice and Kenta." Kazu offered.

"No, that's okay, I'll wait in the car for Henry." Susie declined, still staring in the direction her brother had gone.

"Yeah, _we'll_ wait in the car." Alice amended. If it weren't for the current state of things, someone may have noticed the despondent look on Kazu's face as he and Kenta went to his car.

"Jeri, you better ride home with Takato." Todd suggested.

"Yeah, it'd be a waste for you to have to drive me all the way home and then go the opposite way to get home yourself." Standing on the tips of her toes, she gave him a quick kiss. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Jer."

Before following Takato to his car, Jeri gave Rika a hug. "Night, Rika, call me later if you need anything."

"Night." She replied tiredly long after Jeri had left. The only two left in the parking lot, were Rika and Ryo.

"We better get you back, Pumpkin, it's pretty late. I'm not sure what kind of curfew hotels run on – "

"Don't – don't take me to the Mirage."

"Oh? And where are you going to sleep tonight? I'm afraid I won't be able to pick out the best park bench but – "

"Take me _home_." Rika interrupted, too tired to be roped into his lame attempt of cheering her up. "Go slow. Go the scenic-ist route you know. I don't want to go back to a hotel. I want to go _home_. I want to _be home._"

Ryo threw an arm over her shoulder and began leading her towards his car. Rika caught a glimpse of his hand and saw that his knuckles were red and one was cut. "You got it."

Even though they drove in silence, Ryo showed her all of the Shinjuku that she remembered and missed; all the while pretending that he didn't notice the tears.

"Scenic-ist enough for you?" Ryo teased as they pulled up to her house almost an hour and a half later. An hour and a half that felt like only a few minutes.

Rika never hugged him so Ryo had to admit, this was a lot better than her going back to her mean, sarcastic self. To say that Rika hugged him, it was something of an understatement. In that moment, she was clinging to him, pouring more appreciation and gratitude into that one act, than anything else she could have ever given him. Ryo was stunned. Not stunned enough that he didn't hug her back, but he wouldn't be able to speak – or breathe, apparently because he was beginning to feel a little light headed – until she pulled away.

She did, only seconds before Ryo was sure he was doomed, and quickly climbed out of the vehicle.

"Hey, Rika," Ryo called, leaning out of the window so that he would be able to see her reaction. "Really, I have to ask. Scenic-ist?"

This time, Rika did smile. It was small and gone in an instant, but Ryo was happy it had been there. She sniffled and brought up one of the too long sleeves of the jacket he had practically forced upon her to protect her from the cool night air to wipe away a tear she would deny later.

Rika shrugged. "I was distraught. What did you expect?" She replied flippantly, causing Ryo to grin.

"Goodnight, Rika."

"Goodnight…Hero Boy."

**Author's Note: This chapter, while a long awaited update, was actually written before the fifth chapter (and there was another half to this that came between the fifth and sixth chapters, but it was cut because I could never seem to finish it) so some things may seem a little weird between these two. I've already written half of the fifth chapter but I'm a little stuck at the moment, but assuming that you're reading this, that means that I've already finished and posted the fifth chapter. I wonder what I did with it?**

**Okay, here's a little chronological chart in case anyone is wondering.**

**Rika Age 16: **Signed to record label. Releases _Only For This moment. _Finn breaks up with Johnny and quits

**Rika Age 17: **Charity concert. Seiko dies. Release of _Back in Black._

**Rika Age 18: **Comes back to Japan. (Well, she comes back on her birthday)

**I know that some people are probably going "wait, it says that Rika and Finn hadn't talked for two years, but it also says that the concert was a year ago". They're both true. I try to always put "little to know contact for two years" because they talked at the concert and made up somewhat but didn't keep in touch. After Finn quit, about a year and a half ago, was when they officially stopped talking. I'm not really sure if I'm missing any other really important events, but if I am, just let me know.**

**I managed to squeeze in a little Ryuki at the end. Much more in the next chapter. You like?**


	7. And I Christen You Titanic

**One Girl Revolution**

**By Fantasya**

**Summary:** **Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

**Chapter Seven: And I Christen You Titanic**

O

"Rika – _Rika_ – dear, wake up!" Rumiko cried exasperatedly as she tried to locate her only daughter within the ocean of navy and lavender comforters and assorted other bedding accessories that adorned her bed. No such luck.

A fire engine red head of hair emerged a few seconds later, looking around dazedly before disappearing again. Not wanting to be left, most likely out of earshot, Rumiko grabbed a hold of the first patch of visible flesh she came across and went in after it.

"Goodness, you're going to miss the entire day if you just stay in bed! _Get up_!"

Rika might have replied something, most likely this something would not have been appropriate language one used when speaking to their mother, but it was muffled by the pillow over her head. It did take away the effect of whatever it was that she was trying to say, but Rumiko had a feeling Rika had left the pillow there purposely and she figured that was what counted.

After another minute of not so gentle prodding, Rika clawed and fought her way to the surface, and sent her mother a sleepy look. "Climb on in. It's warm." She disappeared. Rumiko followed.

They had never been close. Even when Rika was a baby and hadn't had a choice but to accept the frilliness her mother had forced upon her in silence, they hadn't been close. There had been an incident where Rika had somehow peed in her mother's mouth and after that…things had only gone downhill since. But right now, Rika felt…comfortable.

Last night, she had arrived on her mother's doorstep, cold and alone (well, ignoring Ryo who had waited on the curb until she was safely inside), a joyous Rumiko ushered her in, sent her for a warm bath and then a good night's sleep.

Now, the two of them lay side by side in the large queen sized bed in a comfortable silence.

Before she knew it, she could feel her mother relax beside her. Soon after, she was a sleep, listening to her mother's gentle breathing.

"You know, it really is a shame."

Rika blinked beneath her covers. Had she just heard...?

"What is?"

"That an image such as this is wasted on us."

This time, Rika was sure she could hear someone in the room with them. Slowly, she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Ah, awake at last, Sleeping Beauty."

In the next instant, the two somebodies that had barged into their home unannounced were in the bed sandwiched between Rika and Rumiko.

"What on earth?!" Rumiko shouted as she came to.

"Mama 'Miko!" Strata and Hasbro chorused, and the two women were engulfed in hugs.

"Oh, hello, boys." Rumiko replied, flustered. "My, how you've grown."

The two continued to grin like hyperactive puppies, all wide-eyed and adorable.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, you and Finn are in Japan, and Aldo's no fun so we ditched him in the States. Here we are! Do you mind if we crash here?" Hasbro said in a rush.

"Did someone let you off your medication?" Rika asked, chuckling at his antics.

"No, but I let him join the, uh," Strata stopped mid-story and glanced warily at Rumiko. He cleared his throat. "The, uh, _M.H.C._ on the ride over to help him get over his fear of flying and it obviously, got him through jet lag too."

"Ooh, who wants pancakes?" Hasbro jumped in.

"What's the MHC?" Rumiko asked, her face scrunched up in confusion. Rika and Strata exchanged a look. With a worried expression, Strata wheeled around and tackled Hasbro off the bed just before he could open his mouth.

"You want to field this one, Rika?" Strata said quickly as he struggled to keep Hasbro quiet. It didn't matter how cool Rumiko was, you just don't tell a mother that you had sex on a plane.

"Um...err..." Rika stammered as her mother continued to stare questioningly at her. "Hey! Why don't you get started on those pancakes, huh? Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Oh, that sounds like a splendid idea!" Rumiko immediately agreed as she hopped out of bed. "I'll go start the batter!"

"Okay! I'll meet you there in five!" Rika called back, though not as genuinely enthusiastic as Rumiko. When her mother was out of the room, Rika fell back on the bed. She could hear Strata do the same thing on the floor beside her.

"That was close." Strata sighed.

"What was close? What'd I miss? Why'd you try to suffocate me?" Hasbro asked quickly.

"Rika?" Rika sat up quickly as her mother reappeared in the doorway.

"Yeah, mom?"

Rumiko looked distinctly uncomfortably as she asked, "The MHC is something dirty isn't it?"

"Yeah, mom."

"Okay." Rumiko left again. Rika flopped back down on her bed.

"Crap." She and Strata said at the same time.

"Who crapped? I don't smell any crap."

"I swear I'm surrounded by crazies." Rika muttered.

A hand darted up over the edge of her bed and grabbed the pillow beside her. A second later, Hasbro screamed as the assault began.

O

Breakfast would have been a quiet, uncomfortable affair if Rumiko weren't a self-proclaimed "cool" mom. If Strata and Hasbro were doing naughty things on a plane, she wouldn't rag on them.

"As long as you're practicing safe sex." Rumiko said sternly, with the knife pointed at them as an unnoticed addition.

"Well, planes are dangerous in general so – "

Strata elbowed Hasbro in the side. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." Rumiko replied with a content smile and returned to the task of cutting her pancakes. After a moment, she set her fork down and looked at the three of them around her and sighed happily. "This is nice, y'know? I kind of wish Finn was here though, it's be just like old times then."

"Yeah, but she's got a _job_ now." Hasbro informed them, spitting the word "job" out like it was a disease. "And it doesn't even have the word _blow_ or _hand_ in the title, which is even less cool."

Rika slapped a hand to her forehead, although the comment seemed to have gone right over Rumiko's head.

"Ooh." Rumiko jumped slightly as the doorbell rang. "Someone's at the door."

"I'll get it." Rika said quickly as she hopped up from her seat and jogged to the door. On the tips of her toes, she peered through the little peephole. A misshapen Ryo stared back at her.

"Yes?" She asked anyway. Though she did it in her best British accent. "Can I help you?"

"Rika? Rika is that you?"

"No – no Rika. Nobody by that name living here. Wrong address. Try next door."

"Rika? Sweetie? Who's at the door?"

"Nobody Mrs. Humperdink. Wrong address."

"Rika? How long are you going to make me stand out here?"

"I told you, no Rika here."

"And it says Nonaka on your mailbox, why?"

"Where I'm from it's pronounced _Humperdink_. Good day."

"Rika! Let Ryo in the house!"

"How did you –?"

"Little thing called a cell phone, Pumpkin, and you not changing your phone number after all these years. Open the door."

With a defeated sigh, Rika unlocked the door and pulled it open. Oh, how she longed to wipe that smug grin off his face.

"Hey there, pumpkin, aren't you going to invite me in?"

Rika leaned against the doorway. "What are you doing here, Akiyama?"

"Looking for Mrs. Humperdink actually."

"Imagine that, she went back to England. Something about a stalker."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I didn't hear a thing about that."

"Get your head out Hannah's purse for a minute and you'd be surprised what you've missed."

Ryo took the comment as the typical Cranky-I-Am-Not-A-Morning-Person Rika Nonaka he remembered and brushed it off. "Still not a morning person?"

"Still not a Ryo-Person." She corrected, though she was smirking and there was no venom behind it.

Ryo winced. "Oh, you see, that one hurt."

"Yes, knowing that one person in the world doesn't worship you must be _killing_ you."

"Really, Rika, I'm dying inside."

"And how long will that take?"

"See – see – it's comments like that that make me think that you don't like me very much."

"Memo must have gotten lost in the mail otherwise you would have known a _long_ time ago." Rika paused. "Though it might have been a good thing because if the _comment_ hurt you then I don't think your ego could have taken _that_ revelation."

"You're a meanie, you know that right?"

"I've been associated with the term before." Crossing her arms and shifting in the doorway, Ryo was glad to see her lips begin to curve up in the beginnings of a smile. "Okay, now that our little pissing contest is over – and I obviously won – what can I really help you with?"

Ryo rolled his eyes. He _so_ let her win. "I came to check on you."

"Well, check away."

"Well, I did just endure five minutes of PMS-fueled small talk." Rika just cocked an eyebrow. "Also, I could check faster and more efficiently if you let me in."

"Is that a fact?"

"Oh, yeah, there was this piece in the _Times_ over it. Very enlightening." Ryo took her silence, and her still raised eyebrow, as reason to continue. "You'd be amazed with the things you could find in a woman's purse."

Despite her indelible attitude, Rika found herself smiling. She feigned an annoyed expression and he grinned. "Fine." Rika nudged the door open with her foot and ushered him in. "But try not to be alarmed by anything you see in here and don't make any sudden movements – they may attack."

"Oh, come on I doubt - "

Ryo blinked.

Ryo blinked again.

Ryo was alarmed.

Balancing on one leg at the head of the table was a slender brunette trying to catch bites of pancake in his mouth, which were being thrown by a slightly shorter male with platinum blonde, almost silver, hair. Rumiko sat on the table between them, taking shots for each one he was able to catch.

"Come on, Mama 'Miko, that's a double!"

Rumiko sighed, leaned down to lick her wrist and tossed back another shot. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Oh, no, we haven't finished with his plate yet."

Rumiko squirmed in her seat. "But I really have to go."

"Mom, go. I'll – " Rika blinked as she realized that she was talking to her mother's retreating back. Before the entire sentence was out of her mouth, she could swear she heard the sound of the bathroom door closing. " – Take over for you." As she pulled up a seat, she cautiously sniffed the liquid. "Where did you get tequila from?" She tossed the shot back and her face screwed up as the liquid burned her throat. "And this isn't even the cheap stuff. Ugh."

"Uh, guys?" Ryo started uncertainly. The attention of the entire room turned toward him. "You do realize that it's still morning." Blank looks all around. "As in, it's barely ten o'clock and you're all getting wasted."

"Okay, rule number 1: you never go far enough to get drunk – just buzzed."

"Which means what exactly?"

"Meaning, that no lime and no salt," Rika picked up a fork and cut a micro sized bite of pancake. Then, in a move that reminded him of a scene from an episode of _Garfield and Friends _he'd watched once upon a time, she handed the rest of the pancake to Strata. "I choose the size and if he doesn't catch all of it, no more drinking and I win."

Of course, Hasbro was unable to catch the entire thing in his mouth. With a sigh, he sadly proclaimed game over and sat down properly in his seat.

"And what exactly was the point of this game?" Ryo asked as he made himself comfortable on the couch.

"To escape boredom." Strata replied breezily as he and Rika began clearing the table.

"That's what video games and television are for."

"Yeah, but after being on a tour bus for days upon days upon days, _Halo_ gets beaten and you get bored again. And then watching the entire first season of _the O.C. _didn't do anything either."

"So, we had to find our own fun." Rika bit her lip, amending, "well, our own _legal _fun. Pipe bombs got us in trouble pretty fast."

"How is drinking legal when Rika _just _turned 18 last night?"

"Okay, _mostly_ legal." Rika amended again with an annoyed frown. "There are just too many freaking laws. You can't _not_ break all of them."

"Actually, yes – yes you can."

"When did you become this big legal-beagle, huh? I seem to recall a time when _LAW_ was just that funny word everyone was shouting while you broke them."

Ryo opened his mouth to reply, until he noticed that while he had been _conversing_ with Rika, Hasbro had stealthily made his way across the room and sat beside him on the couch. While normally he would not have paid this much mind, it was the distant look Hasbro was giving him that was starting to creep him out.

"Can I help you?" He asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer. Slowly, Hasbro nodded. He didn't answer right away, but when he did, he dropped out of whatever trance he had been in and returned to the hyperactive puppy mode he had been in earlier.

"You are just as awesome in person as I always thought you'd be."

"Um…thanks…I think." Ryo edged away from him to the point where he was almost half-sitting on the armrest.

"You did a really good job on Sk8er Boi, have you ever considered singing? 'Cuz we can kick Rika out of the band if you real – "

"Hey!" Rika called indignantly from the kitchen.

"Really. I hear that nobody even really likes her that much."

"Uhh…" At this point, Ryo was sitting on the armrest. "I'll have to pass. Who are you exactly?"

"Hasbro."

"_You're_ Hasbro?"

"The one and only."

"He really is." Strata said coming around the couch and sitting on the opposite armrest beside his boyfriend. "Not too many mothers are willing to name their kids that."

"Their loss."

"Um, I'm gonna – go see what Rika's up to. Rika!" Ryo quickly retreated to the kitchen.

"Hmm?" She didn't look up from the sink of soapy water and dirty dishes, although she noted the trace amount of alarm in his voice amusedly. "Have they already offered you a threesome?" Raising her voice, she called to the guys in the other room without waiting for an answer. "Did you guys offer him a threesome?"

"No." The two men chorused innocently.

"Not with words." Hasbro threw in more quietly, causing Rika to snicker.

"I told you that he's straight, but that's never stopped you before, has it?"

"You're thinking about Todd, aren't you?" Strata asked as he and Hasbro entered the kitchen.

"That guy was gay long before he met us." Hasbro chimed in decisively.

"Wait, are you guys talking about Todd? Jeri's boyfriend Todd?" Ryo asked.

"See!" Hasbro pulled himself onto the island in the center of the industrial sized kitchen. "He's got a boyfriend named Jerry. If that doesn't scream _QUEER_…"

Rika didn't clear up the misunderstanding immediately. It wasn't until after she had pulled open the cabinets and handed him a dry towel that she responded. "Jeri's a chick." She passed Ryo a clean dish. He quickly dried it and put it with others like it.

"Well, he's got a girlfriend with a guys name. _Obviously_ he hasn't figured out her ruse just yet."

They had only finished about half of the dishes when Rika's pocket suddenly began to glow and vibrate in her pocket. With a groan, Rika looked from her wet hands to her pocket. Finally she looked up at Ryo. "You mind?"

He set the towel down but just before he reached to get it, Hasbro stopped him.

"No, let it vibrate a little more. This is the most action our girl has seen in months."

Instantly, Rika's mouth fell open. He could see a faint redness spread over he cheeks. It was actually kind of cute.

"How do you know how much action I do or do not get?" She gestured her hip at Ryo again even as she turned her attention to Hasbro and Strata.

"You're always way nicer the morning after and these last few months…you're like the Wicked Witch of West when you wake up." Strata explained.

"It's Jeri's cell." Ryo informed her, holding the cell phone up for her to see the blinking display. "Do you want me to answer it?"

"Ooh, you've got him well trained." Hasbro teased.

As she wiped her hands down the front of her thighs, Rika sent Hasbro a "not-amused" expression.

"That's the face she makes when she's sexually frustrated…"

Rika hurried out of the room, not really wanting to hear any of the other little tidbits her boys wanted to divulge to their sex god, and pressed the talk button on her cell phone.

"Jeri?"

"Rika! Thank goodness! I wasn't sure who else to call – "

"Jeri?" Rika called again and raised her hand to her other ear in order to cut down on the background noise. "What is it?"

"Rika, I really need your help. I've done something really stupid and – "

"Jeri – Jeri – calm down." It sounded like she was hyperventilating. "Why are you whispering? Where are you?"

"I'm in Takato's bathroom."

"And you're calling me from Takato's bathroom, why? Please don't tell me you just finished a pregnancy test and you don't know how to tell him."

"No!" It came out louder than she must have intended it to because she paused and grew quiet again. "So that he won't see me when he wakes up."

"So, you're avoiding Takato in his own home? Why is that?"

"…Because…I kinda…we, well…isleptwithtakato."

Rika froze. "Please tell me you do not mean that in any way other than – "

"There was me and Takato and kissing and touching and very little clothing involved."

"Oh." Rika bit her lip. "So, you and Takato have been lusting for each other since you were, like, ten. And you finally get it on…and this is a bad thing…how?"

"I have a boyfriend."

"Todd, right." Rika said as if they hadn't mentioned him just a few minutes prior. She looked around the corner in the kitchen to make sure that no one overheard them. "Break up with him."

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't mean to…_you know_…with Takato."

"But you wanted to. And you did."

"But I didn't mean to."

"But you _wanted_ to and you _did_. You can't take it back now. No take-backs."

"I know I can't take it back but…I was kind of hoping to just…forget it happened."

"And you're going to do this, how?"

"Well…we were drunk."

Rika couldn't help it. She laughed. "You guys were shit-faced and you had sex. That's not such a big deal."

"Well…it is to me…"

Rika rolled her eyes. Oh crap, was Jeri about to cry?

"Now, wait, why did you call me again?"

"I was hoping you could come get me. Takato was driving me home and…I don't want to tell any of the guys…and I can't call Todd for obvious reasons."

"So, I'm, like, your last resort."

"No! I-I could have called Alice…but…I thought…you could help me."

Rika sighed. "All right. Put your phone on vibrate. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you!" She must have realized how loud she was because she grew quiet again. "You'll call me when you get here?"

"Yeah."

"All right. Fifteen minutes." She reminded her.

"Fifteen minutes."

It wasn't until after they hung up that Rika remembered…she didn't have a car. Looking through the white lace curtains, she saw Ryo's black car parked in the driveway. Rika nodded to herself.

Bypassing the kitchen and heading down the hallway, she quickly knocked on the bathroom door.

"Mom? Where's your car?"

"In the shop."

"Mom?"

"Yes dear?"

"Are you throwing up?"

There was a pause from the other side before Rumiko replied in a somewhat singsong voice. "Maybe."

"Okay. Try not to make a mess."

Rika would deal with her later. She had more important things to worry about. She quickly backtracked and entered the kitchen.

"Hey Ryo?" All three turned to her anyway. "I need your car."

"Oh, sure. Where do you want me to take y –?"

"No. _I_ need your car."

Ryo pouted. "And I can't come?"

"Well, when I say _I need your car_, it means that I need you to hand over your keys and ask me no questions."

Ryo crossed his arms while he contemplated her pajama-clad form. "And why exactly would I just hand you the keys to my car?"

"Because I need a set of wheels and yours are available."

"And I'll ask no questions because…?"

"Because when the cops ask, you won't have to lie."

Ryo's hand went to his pocket. "Well, when you put it that way…no." He withdrew his hand. "There is no way that you will convince me to just hand over my keys like that. _Especially_ when there's the implication that something illegal is about to happen."

Rika stared him straight in the eye. Although they were already on the sidelines, it looked like Strata and Hasbro were ready to raise the white flag on Ryo's behalf. But Ryo stubbornly stared right back at her.

Whatever needed to be done? She'd do it. She was a girl on a mission.

Although she thought that this was the sort of thing that would _finally_ get those two crazy kids together…Jeri was hurting right now. She'd just had sex with the man of her dreams…but she was hurting.

And Rika would be damned if she let Jeri down.

**Author Note: **Well, I wasn't actually going to end it here. I was going to show the part where Rika goes and "rescues" Jeri but…it's nine pages. I don't like to let a chapter go over ten pages…and the entire "rescue" sequence would push it over ten pages.

There will not be much Ryuki in the next chapter because it will mostly deal with the Rika/Jeri bondage…okay, reading that back…that sounds so wrong. I mean to say, bonding happening between Rika and Jeri. This is a slow coming Ryuki because I have so many lines to the song…and I actually don't have much planned more than a chapter ahead.

Hmm… well, believe it or not I have absolutely nothing in my life that I feel like boring you with right now. Hope you enjoyed. Please review. While reviewing doesn't produce quicker updates, it does inspire me to keep writing.

Hey? Does anyone want to take a stab at the pairings? Just remember: All of the Tamers end up with someone. Except Ai and Mako.


	8. Underestimate and Swim

**One Girl Revolution**

**By Fantasya**

**Summary:** **Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

**Chapter Eight: Underestimate and Swim**

0

Rika was ready to rock. It took her five minutes to decide what one wore on a daring rescue – which consisted entirely of what she wore yesterday and what she'd been planning on wearing today anyway – and another five minutes to decide on a plan of action. A minute was wasted persuading Ryo to hand over his keys, when he really should have forked them over in half that time – Rika was afraid that she was losing her touch – and three minutes replaced the ten minute drive. She spent her spare minute at the back entrance of the Matsuda bakery mentally preparing herself.

_:03_

_Okay, Rika, you can do this._

_:02_

_You've done worse._

_:01_

_Hell, you've __**caused **__worse._

_:00_

_Okay, minute taken._

She raised a firm hand and quickly knocked on the door. There was a loud _clang clash BAM_, followed by a string of profanities, another crash, and then Mrs. Matsuda pulled the door open.

"Yes?" She asked, surprisingly calm. The older woman looked exactly the same as Rika remembered her. There were a few more grays here and there, but flour was apparently an excellent alternative to plastic surgery.

"I'm not sure if you remember me, Mrs. Matsuda, but I'm Rika Nonaka." Rika started in a tiny, sincere voice. "Can I please see Takato? Tell him it's urgent."

Mrs. Matsuda blinked slowly, before she nodded. "Okay, just hold on a second here, Rika dear."

She disappeared through the kitchen and Rika faintly heard her call up the stairs to Takato's room, then silence. Mrs. Matsuda called again as Rika pulled out her cell phone and quickly sent a text message to Jeri. After she was sure the message had gotten through (_come down through window when you hear him leave. Ryo's car is around corner)_, she waited a few more minutes for Takato to come down.

Still nothing.

She heard Ms. Matsuda call again.

Her cell phone beeped (_don let him no i was here_).

Rika sighed. _Today just keeps getting better and better_, Rika thought, glad that sarcasm was noticeable even in thought form.

Then she took a deep breath.

"TAKATO MATSUDA YOU GOOGLE-BRAINED IDIOT! Get your hand out of your boxers and get down here!"

Rika heard the satisfactory _thunk_ of someone falling out of bed, onto cold, unforgiving hardwood, and, even though she hadn't needed to do this in years, knew he would be down in five seconds.

But it really _had_ been a while and she was wrong.

He was there in three.

"Mornin' Gogglebrain." He must not have been expecting this sort of greeting, judging from the way his jaw dropped and the fear she carefully ingrained into his very being shifted into annoyance.

"What do you want Rika?" Said the voice of a man who needed another week of sleep.

She cocked one eyebrow, unfazed. "Well, someone's bright and shining this morning."

"Yes, the sun is shining and the air is clean and why are you dragging me out of bed at too early AM?"

"It's a beautiful day," Rika started with a sweet smile, "and you're young and you should be enjoying it – carpe diem and all that, right? – and Jeri's back at my place bawling her eyes out and – "

At the sound of Jeri's name, his face went beet red and when the rest of the sentence settled in, it lost all color. "Wait – Jeri's what?"

"Yup." Rika sighed, making a show of running her hands through her hair and leaning against the doorframe. "So I get home last night and Jeri's on my porch wanting to cheer me up. We get a little slumber party going – toenail painting and hugging and gossip, the whole nine yards – and we get up this morning and everything is cool, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah…?"

"Then, middle of breakfast she gets a call. And she hasn't stop crying since."

She was glad Takato didn't know – glad that he didn't recognize the slack in her speech patterns that always appeared when she told a lie she didn't want to tell.

"So…let me get this straight…Jeri stayed over your house last night?"

"Uh, yeah. And she was cool then. Now, she's trying to flood my living room."

"_All_ night? Are you sure?"

"God, Takato, there wasn't a naked pillow fight, okay?" Rika wanted to bite a hole through her freaking tongue. He already looked like someone ran down his puppy just as he exited PetCo with Fido's birthday present. "Can we focus on the drowning Jeri?"

Now he looked like she just put the car in reverse and was about to do it again.

"Um, yeah, sorry Rika, but I don't know anything." He mumbled, his head somewhat down. _Oh, crap, __**he**__ isn't gonna cry, is he?_

"I figured – I just – Takato?" Rika sighed again and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, "I don't _do _crying girls, okay? I don't do_ crying_ – I barely do _girls_, okay? I just figured that the two of you are, like, BFF and you could come over and _do _the crying girl thing _for_ me."

_Oh, crap, he __**is **__gonna cry! ABORT! MISSION ABORT!_

"Listen, Rika," he started so slowly Rika literally _heard_ how hard he fought to control his tone, "I've got stuff to do today around…_around_. I'll talk to you later."

"Uh, Takato?" She couldn't upturn the Morton when he already looked like she was nailing Fido's carcass to his door. "Are you okay?" _You wouldn't want to mention the unresolved sexual tensions you __**thought**__ you'd resolved last night with the love of your life and are now being made to believe that it was all a figment of your imagination, would you?_

"Yeah." _Right._ "You should go."

"Takato." She caught his arm before he turned tail and ran up to his Fortress of Solitude. He stopped, but he didn't look at her. "Call Henry."

"What for?" He snapped and the tone was so unlike Takato that Rika almost flinched.

"Because something's wrong and you aren't going to tell me what it is." She didn't want to sound like a bossy sister, but it was this or beat him 'round the head with her messenger bag – which weighed a freaking _ton_ – until he admitted that he wanted last night to have happened. Both trademark moves of a bossy sister. "Call Henry."

"Listen, Rika," He said fiercely as he turned back to her. "Could you just drop this?"

"Drop what?" Anger, Rika could deal with. She could respond well to anger. If responding to anger with anger/sarcasm counted as "well", anyway. "I don't even know what's got your Hanes in a twist in the first place. Is it the fact that you're standing here in your underwear at "too early in the morning"? Which, in case you're interested, is actually almost _noon_. Have you developed a recent fear of telephones so now you _can't_ call Henry? _What_?"

"Last night was the best night of my life and now you're telling me that it never even happened!" He yelled – _yelled_ – as if he were physically unable to hold it in any longer. "And I'm sorry – so damn _sorry _– that I can't really _deal _with Jeri's problem or even really bring myself to _care_ that she has one. I just – I _can't_ – I – "

Rika tried to school her face into a look of surprise and confusion, which the surprise wasn't all that hard since Takato _never_ yelled. She'd been in enough pissing matches with all of the Tamers to know what made them tick. Takato was one of those that backed down.

And the swearing thing? News to her.

"What are you talking about, Takato?"

He looked like he might respond.

"What happened last night?"

But whatever fight had been in him left just as quickly as it came. His shoulders sagged and he looked at her through tired eyes.

"I don't know – I just – I can't…" He scrubbed a hand over his face and breathed deeply. "Please, just go, Rika."

As much as she needled him, she couldn't stand to see him standing there…looking like she'd just ripped out his heart and forced him to eat it.

Rika knew she was screwed when she had to resist the urge to hug him.

She wanted to tell him that Jeri was scared and hiding out in the back of Ryo's car. She wanted to tell him that Jeri loved him just as much as he did her and that they could have many more nights like last night if they both just realized what everyone else had known for years.

She'd probably throw the word "dumbass" around quite a bit, too.

"Call Henry." Rika said instead. "Tell him everything. He's your best friend."

He smiled grimly. "And you're his."

"Well, I'm definitely in the top two."

"So," Takato continued, "he'll turn around and just repeat everything I said to you."

Rika shrugged innocently. "Well, in his defense, there will probably be torture involved."

The quirk of his lips, faint as it was, showed more Takato than she had witnessed all morning.

"I don't know, Rika, I mean, his people _invented_ water torture…you can't beat that."

"Yeah, _half_ his people. I wanna see him in a corset and four inch heels sixteen hours days, nights, and weekends."

She didn't think Takato actually ever saw her as the kick ass government agent on the American action-dramedy-thing _Invincible_, but the imagery alone made him wince.

The vest was bad enough. Corsets and heels need not apply.

"Of course, minus the Porsche wreckage and the ridiculous amount of money I had stuffed down my throat, I think the Americans really did come out ahead on that one."

Takato must have been startled enough by her brisk change in subject, because he actually laughed. Or, it might have been a laugh it hadn't sounded so much like a sob.

"So, you gonna call or shall I?"

Takato reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, "eh…?"

"That sound like a "both of us" if I ever heard one." Rika nodded to herself, already fishing out her cell phone. She glanced quickly at the screen but there was no all clear message from Jeri. "I'll give you a few minutes head start and if when I call Henry, he doesn't tell me exactly what I want to hear, which is that he is on his way, I'm doubling back with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and the _Ya Ya Sisterhood_, got me?"

If possible, Takato looked even more frightened with the threat of the Sisterhood than he had of a cross-dressing Henry.

"Yes, ma'am." And then he hugged her.

No, seriously.

Takato Matsuda. In his underwear. Hugging her of his own freewill. Hugging her like he _wanted_ to hug her.

Rika glared when he pulled away.

He winced.

"Chocolate chip or cookie dough?"

"Eh…cookie dough?"

"Wonderful! Me and the Sisterhood will be back at seven."

Takato's eyes widened. "Wait, I'm calling!" He scrambled away from the door and retrieved the cordless.

This was a Takato Rika could deal with even if it was probably fake. As long as he wasn't angry or brooding, Rika could handle the familiar, somewhat fearful version. She would pretend that she didn't know that he was probably dying inside as long as he would play as well.

He dialed frantically even as Rika continued to talk.

"Oh, no, I don't think so. You do _not _go around hugging people, mister, and think you can just get away with it – "

"Henry? Henry!"

" – there will be popcorn and nail-painting and I swear to _God_ I'm pulling out the Ouiji board!"

"Henry, get over here as soon as possible. Rika's lost her mind!"

"If the spirit realm can't tell me what the hell is in the water around here, _somebody_ better get to talking."

" – yes, Henry, a freaking _slumber _party – "

"I wasn't going to stay the night but if that's what it takes, sleep over it is!"

"No – Rika – _wait_. Henry's on his way."

"The more the merrier. Tell him to bring one of Susie's feather boas and a hairbrush."

Takato's face went blank. "Do I even want to ask?"

"Spice Girls karaoke." She holds both hands up to emphasize her point.

He shuddered. "Please, _please_, tell me that was a joke."

"And tissues. Lots and lots of tissues."

The abrupt change of atmosphere would have startled a normal person, but this was _Takato_ for Pete's sake. He would bounce back from anything. But there was something sad at the corner of his eyes and Rika knew he was getting tired of the charade. So, as he hung up with Henry – giving him a whispered _no, I don't think you can flee the country_ instead of a farewell – Rika was glad that her phone beeped signaling that she had received a text message (_where r u im in the car_) and needed to make her exit.

"Well, I guess I should be hitting the ol' dusty trail." Rika said, though neither of them made to move. "And you – _you_ should probably go put some clothes on."

As if just now noticing his nakedness, Takato froze. "Err…yeah. That might be best."

"Scooby Doo's looking a little cold." Rika cocked her head to the side as Takato's skin heated in a blush. "Or warm depending on how you look at it."

The blush deepened and Takato slammed his eyes closed, probably trying to will himself invisible as he'd done so many times in the past.

"You really _do_ blush all over."

"Take her shopping." He blurted out, most likely it was more of an attempt to change the subject than anything else, but once it was said he couldn't take it back. And with those three words, came the previous night…and this morning.

Rika craned her head to look at him. "Huh?" She asked, temporarily forgetting about the fact that Takato looked like a lobster.

"Jeri." He shrugged nonchalantly, but Rika could see that it was a conscious gesture. "Shopping therapy. It always makes her feel…better."

Rika wanted to swear. All of her work of trying to annoy him out of his funk was wasted with an absent phrase. She _really _needed to have a talk with that girl.

He shrugged again, more pained than the first time. "I don't know what's up with her. But…shopping might help."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

Shopping. She could shop. Rika had never really _disliked _shopping unless she was forced to go with her mother. And she hadn't brought anything with her on her trip anyway except the clothes on her back – okay, the outfit yesterday and the super cool sleuthing outfit she now wore – so that was probably a good idea. Besides, seeing Takato fall apart and pick himself back up and fall apart again was a bit disconcerting, so _Rika _could use the therapy.

"Now go be a good boy and put your pants back on." She called over her shoulder as she made her way down the sidewalk.

"Rika?"

Only a few steps away from the bakery, Rika turned to face him.

"Thanks." She wasn't sure if he could read her expression or not, but he quickly added, "Once upon a time you would have just kicked my ass."

Rika shrugged. "I've found that there are subtler forms of intimidation."

He hid a smile when he ducked his head, and Rika couldn't help but feel like she'd won the battle. "Yeah, well, anyway…thanks."

It's another silence and Rika can't just walk away. So she did the next best thing.

Turning on her heel, she punched a fist to the sky and called to the afternoon air, "_Ya-Ya!_" before walking away.

Takato's exaggerated groan punctuated her battle cry, followed by the soft _click_ of the bakery door.

She didn't talk to Jeri after she climbed into the small vehicle. Rika didn't respond to Jeri's panicked _where were you what happened is everything okay? _and she certainly didn't say anything to her _well, two can play this game_ followed shortly by _okay, only one can, you win what happened?_

Rika pulled over a few blocks from the bakery and turned on the hazard lights.

"He yelled at me." She said after a length, not taking her eyes off the unmoving road before her. She gripped the leather of the steering wheel a little tighter, even if the car was no longer in motion. "I told him that you stayed the night at my house and that someone called this morning and that you were crying…and he yelled at me."

Jeri's silence told Rika enough. Takato really _wasn't _a yeller.

"It took a little but I got him to smile. That's something, isn't it?"

Jeri still didn't respond.

"But for a second there, _Jer_…he _scared_ me, y'know? Like, really." Rika continued to stare out the window. "Not, like, I was afraid _of_ him, but more…_for _him, y'know? I think he knew, too, otherwise he might not have smiled.

"People aren't supposed to look like the world is crashing down around them and they couldn't give a damn that their very _life_ was hanging in the balance, Jer, not over a one night stand – not over something that shouldn't have happened."

"I don't – I just – I don't know what to _do_." Jeri admitted and Rika couldn't help but feel like she was talking to a very small child.

"Well, you better figure it out because your heart isn't the only one on the line here."

"It's so _hard_." She wasn't looking over, but Rika knew that Jeri was in tears.

"Then make it simple. Do you want him?"

"I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Well, it _is_ _ruined_ Jeri. You can pretend that last night didn't happen but there's this huge rift between you guys and you'll never be able to get back to each other."

Jeri's silent for a moment. "This isn't all about me, is it?"

"Of course it's about you." But Rika didn't look at her and they both know she's lying. "Is he worth it?"

"Maybe…I don't know." Jeri repeated, "I don't know what to do."

"Well, it looks to me like Takato's already made his decision." Rika sighed and quickly patted herself down. A cigarette and a light were what she needed right now. "You can either keep standing on the shore and wonder what the water feels like, or you can grab his hand and jump on in." Finally, _finally, _in one of the inner pockets, she finds a crumpled pack and Finn's half-empty bic. She cracked the window and lit up. "Either way, it's unfair to get away dry after you've pushed him in."

"I'm not getting away dry!" Jeri almost yelled, then almost pouted.

"And that's why we call it an analogy because TMI is not cool." Rika replied casually. "If you're not sure, _tell _Takato you're not sure. Not _I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about who are you?_"

"I just – I just need time to _think_." Jeri sighed and curled into herself the best she could in the seat. "Is that too much to ask?"

Rika echoed her sigh as she started up the car. "Well, you better not keep him waiting for too long. You never know who else want to "_swim"_."

They drove a few more blocks in silence, each lost in their own thought.

"Who was he?"

"Who was who?" Rika wasn't playing dumb. Really.

"Whoever it was. This mystery guy – or girl since I'm open-minded – that you don't want me to think about." Glancing over, Rika could see the ghost of Jeri's Mona Lisa smile stretched across her window. "I'm not exactly working with my A-game but I'm good enough to notice when there's a little bit of experience laced through your words."

Juggling her cigarette and cell phone, Rika sent out a sweeping text message to the three girls she'd need right now. "It was here – in Japan – and was just after a concert."

Jeri nodded, sensing that she wasn't going to get a name. "Do we know him?"

"Yeah." Rika answered quickly, before she shook her head. "No, actually. I guess we really don't."

"What happened?"

"Nothing so huge as getting busy on the Cloak of Friendship…but afterwards, I kinda blew him off."

"Because you were scared?" Jeri guessed.

"Because it meant nothing to me." Rika corrected as she flipped on a blinker and carefully maneuvered onto the highway. "Because it meant everything to me."

Jeri sighed. "You're going to have to stop with the double answers." Jeri said as she frowned. "I don't get it."

"It didn't mean a thing…until it was too late." Rika shrugged as she carefully dumped her excess ashes into an old burger wrapper stuffed into the cup holder. "A friend of mine gave me some pretty good advice – something about jumping into water, I don't remember it word for word – and to this day…I kinda wonder what would have happened if I'd listened."

"What happened?"

"She told me that I broke his heart - my friend." Rika clarified at Jeri's look. "She told me that he wouldn't be able to get over me and I didn't believe her. I still don't. We haven't spoken in a while but he seems fine to me."

"You've seen him?"

"Yeah. He looks okay. But even now…I kinda wonder. What would've happened, y'know?" Rika shrugged for what felt like the millionth time in about five minutes. "Maybe it's just human to wonder what's down the other road."

It was obvious that the topic was dropped, even though Jeri's curious look hadn't disappeared. But with the conversation dropped, she noticed for the first time that they were headed in no direction that led to either her own or the Nonaka residence.

"Where are we going?" Jeri asked, pressing her face to the glass. She chuckled nervously. "I don't recall too many highways between the bakery and my house."

"No, we're not going to your house."

"Taking the scenic route to yours?" Jeri guessed hopefully.

Rika shook her head. "Nope."

At Jeri's increasingly panicked look, Rika quickly added with a smirk, "I figured we could use a little shoe therapy."

Instantly, Jeri's face broke into a huge grin.

"Oh great! I have to call Susie and Alice and – "

"Already taken care of." Rika glanced thoughtfully at the digital clock built into the cars dashboard. "I figure that when you send out a Shoe Therapy 911 page…they'll meet us at the mall in…fifteen minutes?"

Jeri squealed again and laughed out loud.

"More like five."

She reached over, flipped on the radio, and instantly the car was filled with some uppity pop song Rika wanted to murder. But it was better than the crushing silence that would have followed. She laughed at Jeri as she sang along – terribly off-key – even as her mind drifted far, far away.

Rika lied. A lot. To Takato – oh, poor Takato – and just now to Jeri.

A year ago, she'd had an incredibly similar conversation, which was true. Only back then, it'd been over something that didn't have to be more than it had seemed.

"_You can't just watch the happy couples swimming about. Sooner or later, you're gonna have to jump."_

"_Finn, what are you talking about? I don't want to jump into anything. I've got a tour and a – "_

"_You've got a ficus and a pocket rocket." Finn set the ancient issue of **Newsweek** aside, braced her hands on the sides of the couch, and pushed herself to her feet. "And who better to swim with than Apollo himself?"_

"_Finn, Apollo was a sun god." Rika corrected as she breezed around the room, picking up the post-show litter the band constantly seemed to leave behind. "He rode a chariot through the sky with the freaking **sun** attached to it. I doubt he swam often."_

"_Apollo? Fine, you can say Neptune or Triton or **Captain Jack Sparrow** for all I care, okay? Point is: if you're going to swim, it might as well be with someone worth it. And has abs you could bounce just about **anything** off of."_

_Looking up at her friend as she gathered up the last of their bags, Rika blew her bangs out of her face. "1.) I'm not swimming and 2.) Have I told you how much I don't appreciate this conversation right now?"_

"_I jumped in, Rika. I saw how happy the other couples were and I jumped. And I was happy. I had to climb out because Johnny and me waded into the deep end without waiting forty-five minutes after we ate…but it was worth it. Every second."_

_Rika patted Finn's swollen stomach somewhat condescendingly. "You won't be saying that in two weeks."_

"You can't just watch the happy couples swimming about."

"_Did I tell you thank you?" Rika didn't risk a hug. Finn might tip over and crush her. It'd already almost happened once before. "For helping mom…with the arrange-" her tongue tripped over the word. It was too soon, "arrangements?"_

_Finn nodded, fighting hormonal tears. "Yeah."_

"_And for helping with the concert last night?"_

"_Yeah but you didn't have to. I did it for Mama Seiko."_

"_Did I tell you that I'm gonna miss you?"_

"_No. You did tell me that you __**missed**__ me, though."_

_Rika nodded. "I did."_

"_Of course you did." Finn waved off the sentiment as she hefted up one of the smaller bags and the two walked – or in Finn's case, waddled – out of the small dressing room. "That drummer you hired, Kayla, was seriously wigged in the head."_

"_You and me…" Rika trailed off, unsure of how to broach this subject, wondering if the compliment would be well received, "we rocked out there, y'know?"_

"_Yeah." Finn answered, though there was a sad quality to her voice and even though a question hadn't been asked, Rika had her answer. "I know."_

_Rika felt a little sad as well. As they continued to walk down the narrow hallway in silence, she couldn't help but marvel at how screwed up their relationship was. A year ago, Finn would have hopped on the plane with her and they'd be on their way to perform in some far away state. Now, Finn wasn't even going to ride with her to the airport._

_Casting one last glance down towards the room from whence they came, she couldn't help but marvel at how screwed up __**that**__ relationship was as well. And then she consoled herself with the thought: __**He isn't gonna be too bummed to see me go. He doesn't care either.**_

_And even as she thought, she couldn't help but recall Finn's words._

"Sooner or later, you're gonna have to jump."

_And, at the time, after that night, she couldn't think of a better person to fall with._

0

Author's Note: CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!! I was working on a homework project (like a month ago) and was skimming though my music library…and I came across One Girl Revolution by Superchick. And I said to myself, "Hmm…why does that song remind me of someth—HOLY _CRAP_!!!" So…yeah, long story short, sorry for the freakishly long break. School just let out and I will have time to write more this next week…until I start work again…and tutoring…and website renovations…_CRAP_!!!

The next time I don't update for a month, someone feel free to e-mail me and verbally kick my ass into gear! I've got that little kid syndrome where I'm going "I should really work on the next chapter…ooh! A cloud!", so a little reminder would be appreciated.

Ah well, if someone does manage to stumble upon this, don't forget to review!


	9. I'll Be Everything That I Want To Be

**One Girl Revolution**

**By Fantasya**

**Summary:** **Rika and her band get their big break and become one of the most successful punk bands of their time. But when they return to Japan years later for a charity event, the other Tamers realize that a lot of things about the Ice Queen have changed.**

**Chapter Nine: I'll Be Everything I Want To Be**

O

Mega-superstar or not, Rika was glad that her popularity in Japan was significantly less than in the States. Storeowners still offered to clear the premises so that Ms. Nonaka and her guests could shop in peace, but patrons weren't too concerned with what she was doing. So, Rika shopped, consumers weren't forced out into the cold, and there was an uneasy truce. No one fangirl'd out on her and everyone was happy.

"Ooh!" Jeri squealed as the quintet passed by different stores, vaguely window-shopping. A dress on a rack outside of a store caught her eye, and she quickly held it in front of her.

"Well, wouldn't you just look edible and nutritious in _that_?" Alice teased, causing Jeri to blush slightly.

Susie looked the dress over with a half-full shake in one hand. With the other, she checked the tag. "There's no point in me telling you it's sluttish since it isn't in my size." She smiled. "Looks good."

"I really lik – "

"I don't think so." Hannah disagreed, shrugging her shoulders. "It's just so…'91."

"Oh." Carefully smoothing the thin material, Jeri set the periwinkle dress back on the rack. "Well, um, what are we doing now?"

Motioning to Cory and Jason, the awkward looking youths they'd rented from _Yellowshore_ to carry their bags, Rika nodded. "Why don't we see a movie?"

"Well, where?" Alice asked, watching with some amusement as Rika handed her credit card to one and motioned to the dress for the other.

"Ally-cat! Susie Q!" Rika had her phone out and ready to call security until she realized whom it was barreling towards them. Finn rushed over and pulled Alice and Susie into a hug at once. When she pulled away, she turned to Rika. "Rika-chu!" She moved forward to hug, but stopped. "Wait, I don't like you too much right now. Jeri-Bear!"

"Finn? What are you doing here?" Jeri asked after she was released.

"Han…wait. I don't actually like you too much _at all_." Finn turned back to Jeri, ignoring Hannah's stunned expression. "Hmm?"

"What are you doing here?" Susie asked, hiding her laughter but doing nothing about the huge grin spread across her face. Apparently, declaring her dislike for Hannah had completely redeemed her for the milk incident in Susie's eyes.

"Believe it or not, I shop."

Alice's eyebrows rose to a look of mock-surprise. "_No_? Really?"

"Oh, really really." Finn answered, undeterred and unhurriedly. "With my rapidly fading physique, it has become a necessity for me to partake in a weekly shopping expedition."

"Find any good sales?"

"s'what brings me here." She held up a single bag. "I needed shoes. I also needed to pay my rent but…_shoes_."

"Of course." Jeri said as she nodded seriously. "Footwear will always be the higher priority."

Finn smiled. "Well, you've got my agenda. What are you ladies doing here?"

"We were just talking about going to see a movie."

"Cool."

"Hey Finn, you should come along."

"Eh, I don't think that's such a good idea." Rika interjected. She hadn't said anything in a while, and felt that now was a good time to break her silence. If you never had to go to the movies with Finn "they totally _can_ hear me" Margo, consider it a blessing.

"Yeah, Rika-chu has a point. Me and the cinema aren't cool. " Finn held up the bag again. "Besides, I've got to be at work in, like, half an hour and these shoes aren't going to be worn by themselves." She paused. "No matter how much guys would appreciate that."

A somewhat awkward silence descended at her statement, broken by an amused Susie.

"So, where are we going anyway?"

"Omniplex?" Jeri asked no one in particular.

"Uh-uh. No way." Alice shot it down quickly.

"No THX." Rika reminded them. She'd only been back about thirty hours, but she remembered how horrible that theater was.

"They don't even have _Dolby_." Hannah added.

The five – now six – girls thought for a moment.

"Beverly Center." Alice suggested.

"Uh, yeah, _no_." Susie answered.

"AMC?" Hannah offered.

"Oh god, have you _tasted_ their popcorn?"

"Yeah, it's totally stale." Finn added. "More likely to pop up as a murder weapon than as the cause of anyone's family fun."

"Unless you're my family." Rika commented. "Mom _has _been asking for it lately…"

"Besides," Finn rolled her eyes. "All of the ushers look like _them_." She pointed none too stealthily at Cory and Jason, both of which didn't notice as they were busily trying to find out if the sales clerk did _come here often?_. "You guys should try the Pavilion."

Slowly, Alice started nodding. "Yeah…yeah…no horrific information cropping up…"

"Looks like we're going Pavilion." Susie announced.

"Hey, I forgot to give you this back." Rika said, shrugging out of the denim jacket. Finn took it quickly and hugged it close.

"Oh, how I've missed you!" She pulled it on. "I felt so naked without you." Breathing deep, she sighed contently. "And you washed it! No more smoke."

"I got attacked by one of those perfume saleswomen, actually. Just no more cigarettes."

She waved it off. "What do you think I got them for?" Finn glanced down at her watch – now she needed to roll up the sleeves of the jacket in order to see it – and smiled softly. "I gotta run, but you guys have fun, okay?"

"If you change your mind we'll be at Pavilion!"

They watched Finn wave before she disappeared into the throng of shoppers.

"So, who all agrees that we're going to need fuel?"

"Food court?" Jeri asked, but she already knew the answer.

As one, the four girls said, "food court!" and left behind a mildly confused Hannah.

"Wait! Don't you guys even _know_ what the food court _is_?" Hannah asked, out of breath as she ran to catch up with them. "Everything is either covered in things that just _shouldn't_ be eaten, or has, like, a million calories."

"Oh, poor Hannah, you have so much to learn." Alice informed her condescendingly as they approached the counter of one of the little food stands. "Umm…I'll have…one of those pepperoni personal pan pizzas. God, I hate alliteration." She rolled her eyes as she turned to Susie. "Go."

"Oh! Um…I'll have another chocolate shake." Susie ordered as she turned to Jeri. "Go."

"I'll take…uh…I'll take a chocolate fudge sundae." Jeri drummed her hands on the counter and turned to Rika. "Go."

"The biggest order of chili cheese fries you can legally make." Rika turned to Hannah, hoping she had caught on. "Go."

Startled, Hannah flinched. "Oh, um…what does your salad taste like?"

"Uhhhh…" The unremarkable teenager behind the counter, who looked so much like Napoleon Dynamite Rika had to double check, shrugged. "Like…lettuce?"

"Is it like _fresh_ lettuce or _regular_ lettuce because – "

"She'll take the salad." Rika cut in, "but throw some hot fudge over the top, would you?"

"And some sprinkles." Susie added.

"Oh, you know what would be good?" Alice suggested, "If instead of, um, lettuce and whatever else you guys put in it, right? _Ice cream_."

Over the chorus of agreements, Napoleon cleared his throat. "So, um, instead of lettuce…you want ice cream?"

"With hot fudge." Rika reminded him.

"And some sprinkles." Susie repeated.

"You want me to throw that on a cone?"

"Oh, would you?" Rika asked sweetly.

Susie batted her eyelashes. "Lookit: a guy in uniform after mine own heart."

Napolean blushed.

"Simon, Milo, _bag-boys_," Rika called with as much snotty rich girl as she could muster, "pay the nice man."

Cory - or maybe Jason? She never bothered to figure out which was which...in fact, Rika wasn't even sure if those were actually their names - came forward, juggling a bag from Victoria's Secret - Jeri wouldn't tell the story of why she needed new panties - and GameSpot.

"Dude! You're carrying Rika Nonaka's bags!" Napolean congratulated - Rika assumed, his face gave little indication to what he was feeling - as he swiped the card.

"Dude! You're fixing Rika Nonaka's food!" Whichever one hadn't handed Napolean her credit card replied.

"Dudes! Rika Nonaka's food isn't going to fix itself." Alice added.

Rika Nonaka didn't think it was possible to prepare food that fast.

Sustenance acquired, the five girls quickly gathered around a table pushed back to the far corner of the food court, Hannah staring at her salad as if it were going to attack her at any minute.

"So, I'm going to assume that there is some great food court mystery I have yet to discover." Hannah said mournfully.

Alice blinked. "Right, you are new to the Newly Revised Girl Code, aren't you?"

"Oh yes," Jeri nodded, "Updated and reimaged for the 21st century girl."

"We were thinking about copyrighting it." Susie added.

"Wait -- so, I'm not just socially retarded then?" Hannah sighed in relief. "I just thought, that since I didn't really know what you guys were talking about at the park that it might have been me - "

"Oh, Hannah," Susie interrupted, "I wouldn't go that far. You are a little socially retarded."

Alice shrugged. "But only a teensy bit."

"Do you know," Jeri leaned forward, "what kind of deals we could have gotten if it weren't for that teensy bit?"

"That guy at _Boston_? Yeah, he looked like he wanted to eat you." Rika said.

"Pour a little ketchup on and we could have saved _so_ much money."

Hannah frowned. "Okay...I'm going to assume that the ketchup thing was a metaphor...for what...I'm not exactly sure."

"For the record," Alice paused long enough to finish off her second slice of pizza before she continued. "You _never_ tell a shoe salesman that you have a boyfriend."

"Oh yeah, you killed so much hope and enthusiasm." Susie shook her head. "That guy would have found you some _Venezia's _in the perfect size, perfect _color_ if you had just kept your mouth shut and inched your skirt up."

Hannah sat in silent contemplation for a moment. Before she finally blurted out, "You guys are whores!"

Jeri dropped her ice cream on the table, whereas chocolate shake flew out of Susie's mouth as both of them burst out laughing. "_Wow_!"

Alice traded a questioning lookwith Rika. Alice raised an eyebrow. Rika raised one back. They turned back to Hannah.

"O - M - G, you are _so_ right Hannah."

"Yes, Hannah, thank you for telling us of the errors of our ways." Rika intoned.

"And now we only hope that you can guide us back to the light of chastity and help us in turning our backs to the men of the world that recieve a ten percent discount."

"Yes - oh wait." Rika paused to thump a still gasping Susie on the back. "_We_ don't have boyfriends."

"Yeah, that's right." Alice added in mock-astonishment. "We can use our womanly wiles to manipulate the opposite sex."

"Yay for independence!"

Hannah, by this point, was bright red under a head of blonde hair. She looked down into her lap and fiddled with the hem of her pale shirt. "I didn't mean it - like - " She cut herself off and looked up. "No, I mean, you wanted _me_ to - "

"Yes, obviously we wanted you to lie back and think of England." Rika paused. "Or 10 percent discounts. Whatever floats your boat and improves your acting."

Alice snorted but otherwise kept her composure. "And the _coupons_. They always give the best _coupons_."

Jeri made a sound of distress - something akin to a dying animal - and pushed her chair away from the table as she struggled for breath.

"Oh my _God_, you guys are..._horrible_!" She choked out between giggles.

Hannah cut her eyes across to the pair - Jeri holding her sides and Susie biting her lip to keep her own giggles from escaping.

Leaning across the table, Alice patted the top of Hannah's hand. "Rule Number One of the Girl Code: Don't take your girlfriends so seriously."

Susie stopped laughing. "We should head down to the theatre."

"Actually," Rika stood up with her. She subtly caught Susie's arm. "Those fries I ate are making me feel fat. I need to Purge. Come along Susie-kins."

Susie yanked her arm out of Rika's hand and stalked off in the opposite direction. As Rika turned to follow, she heard Alice turn to Hannah and say: "Yeah, we don't usually do the bathroom trips in packs. They're going to have HLA."

"...Do I want to know?"

"Hot Lesbian Sex." Jeri clarified.

"...This is a...joke, right?"

"Yes, Hannah. That was a joke." Rika could practically hear Alice patting the top of her hand condescendingly.

When she finally found the restroom, it didn't take nearly as much _Star Power_ as she'd thought it would to clear it out. Bathroom sex was apparently something of a Lonely Lights signature move.

She'd never been more proud of the fact that her back-up guitarist was a pig. Speaking of...

"This little piggy went to market." Rika pushed open the first stall. Empty.

"This little piggy did...something else." Rika pushed open the second stall. Empty.

"This little piggy...made the big bad wolf his bitch." Rika pushed open the third stall. Empty.

"This little piggy lost all his money on the slots." Rika pushed open the fourth stall. Empty.

"This little piggy was spurned by an unfaithful lover who chose drugs and turned to prostitution in dispair. " Rika pushed open the fifth stall. Empty.

But there was a quiet _snifflesnort_ in the sixth stall. Rika carefully pushed it open.

"Thank god. I just about ran out of piggy's."

Susie made another of those weird _snifflesnort_ sounds and wiped her eys. "Yeah, I kinda figured that."

"Come on, Girlie." Rika smiled and leaned against the doorframe. "There's always Grumpy, Sleepy, Doc, Sneezy, Dopey, Bashful, and...did I already say Sleazy?"

This time Susie there was no sniffle in her snort. "Sleazy isn't the seventh dwarf."

"So, I'm a little rusty on my Disney trivia. Sue me." Rika held up a hand to stop the obvious retort. "I still have pictures of you in your diaper. Don't even think about it."

"Wasn't." Susie muttered as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. "So, we're, like, accepting her, then?"

"Looks like."

"Yeah, okay." Susie said, wiping the tear tracks from beneath her eys. She looked up at Rika when she was sure her face was clear, her eyes blazing. "_Why_? Why are we suddenly accepting her?"

"Susie - "

"No! _Why_? You weren't here for all of them but there were twenty million unfortunate girls before her. I was okay with Stephanie and Sakura and Melanie and Janet and Marley and Moriko and _God knows who else_ because I knew they weren't going to last!" Susie continued, her voice steadily rising. "I was okay with Whitney and Davina and Amanda and all 500 of their sisters and - " She cut herself off then. She rested her head back in her hands and took a deep breath. "Why? Why, Rika? Why is it never me?"

The question echoed around the empty room, bouncing off shiny linoleoum, never getting any easier to answer. They stayed silent for several long moments - Rika unsure of how to respond, Susie, more than likely, not wanting a response.

O

**Author's Note: So, I actually planned on being done with the entire story by now. But everything in my life just decided "hey, let's all get shot to shit at the same time, eh? That sounds fun.". As you can tell, I did not finish the story. I'm trying...really I am.**

**R&R Peeps.**


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